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| Shinde went back on his promise, says no decision yet on Guru | | Vote-Bank Politics | |
Rustam
JAMMU, Dec 6: On the day (November 21) Pakistani terrorist and Lahkar-e-Toiba operative Ajmal Kasab, convicted in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, was sent to the gallows, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde announced that he would take 48 hours to take decision on the hanging or otherwise of Afzal Guru, convicted in the 2001 Parliament terrorist attack case. "I do not delay matters; I will take only 48 hours to take decision after I receive the file from the Rashtrapati Bhawan," he had said. He had made the statement in response to the questions put by reporters and his statement was unequivocal. There was no ambiguity in his statement whatsoever. It was not only reporters who had asked the Home Minister questions related to the mercy petition of Guru. The main opposition party, BJP, and the Shiv Sena had also urged the Union Home Ministry to implement the judicial verdict against Guru and expressed the hope that the UPA Government would rise to the occasion and reject forthwith the mercy petition of Guru.
Shinde has gone back on his commitment. Only the other day, he told media persons that the Home Ministry had not yet taken any decision on the mercy petition of Parliament attack case.
"The file related to the mercy petition of Guru, returned by President Pranab Mukherjee for review by him, was still pending with the Home Ministry. So far, the file (of Guru) is with the Home Ministry. It has not come to me yet. So far, I have only one file of mercy petition and that was of (26/11 terrorist) Amal Kasab," he told reporters on Tuesday in Delhi.
It needs to be underlined that President Mukherjee had reportedly returned the mercy petition of Guru, along with half a dozen files of other convicts, to the Home Ministry on or even before November 21. Almost all the newspapers had carried a story to that effect. The statement of Shinde that the mercy petition of Guru is still with the Home Minister and that he has not seen the file is misleading. What does he mean when he says that the mercy petition is still with the Home Ministry? Does he not head and control the Home Ministry? Shinde heads the Union Home Ministry. The Union Government has, it seems, decided to delay the matter for vote-bank politics. It would be appropriate to point here that President Mukharjee has in the meantime converted the death sentence into life sentence in one case. This obviously means that the Home Ministry had made such a recommendation. The man involved was one with highly dubious character. |
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