The decision on the hanging of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru would have to wait for at least two years with the government deciding to clear one mercy petition every month in chronological order. The mercy petition of Afzal Guru, who has been awarded the death sentence by the Supreme Court in the 2001 Parliament attack case, is the 22nd on the list of 28 cases pending before the government of India. Home Minister P Chidambaram is believed to have asked his officers to put up one case to him each month on which he will take a decision and send the government’s recommendation to President Pratibha Patil. Chidambaram is already said to have conveyed the government’s recommendation to the President this month on the first case on the list. The one recommendation per month rule, however, would not necessarily result in one mercy petition getting accepted or rejected every month as the President was entitled to take as much time as she desires to either accept or reject the government’s recommendation.
This denotes why we will never become a great power. Here is a person, who was instrumental in a savage murderous attack on the highest seat of democracy in our country, Parliament to destabilize our country. He has been given a fair hearing and pronounced guilty by the highest court in the Country more than 3 years back. And our Congress Government, who professes to root out terrorism, is pussy footing saying he will be treated like any other ordinary criminal in the death row. WHAT A CRYING SHAME? What kind of messages are we sending out to terrorists? That they can attack us with impunity and then enjoy a nice 15 years stay in our jails at OUR TAXPAYERS MONEY? This has got nothing to do with natural justice. This is pure cowardice on the part of the Government, who thinks that hanging Afsal Guru shall displease the muslim community, not realizing that every single person I spoke to from that community is critical of his attack on the parliament and want him to be hanged as early as possible. Cry my beloved country! Cry.
