The main Opposition BJP on Friday claimed that the delay in taking a decision on Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s mercy petition is a “copybook example of votebank politics”. The party also demanded that Guru’s petition should be rejected at the earliest.
On the issue of the draft Communal Violence Bill, which the party rejected, it said it will launch a campaign against the bill. The party is of the view that as per the draft bill, the majority community is always at fault during riots and if passed, it will end up creating an “imbalance in the inter-community relationship of the country”.
With President Pratibha Patil rejecting the mercy petition of Devinder Singh Bhullar, convicted in the Youth Congress office bombing in the capital, and M.N. Das, who killed a person while being out on parole, the BJP raised the pitch for hanging Guru.
“When would Afzal Guru be hanged and how long will his mercy petition be delayed? On August 4, 2005, the Supreme Court had rejected his appeal. It has been six years since then. The review petition was rejected on May 14, 2008,” BJP chief spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad said. “Which law authorises the government of India that consideration of mercy petitions would only be in sequence. Cases of serious crime are fast-tracked. The Supreme Court has fast-tracked the 2G case though thousands of cases are pending,” Mr Prasad said.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said in Mumbai his party will oppose the bill. He said, “There is no need to introduce a bill that will create animosity between minorities and the majority. We do not see any threat to the communal harmony.”