New Delhi: The BJP is stepping up its campaign to have Mohammad Afzal Guru, one of the prime accused in the 2001 Parliament attack case, hanged.
Rahul Mahajan, the son of the late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, will on Wednesday join BJP party workers in a dharna in Mumbai's August Kranti Maidan.
Many believe it will be launching pad for Rahul Mahajan, who will be addressing a public rally for the first time.
Perhaps, the BJP is also capitalising on the growing resentment of Mumbaikars against terrorists after the Mumbai blasts.
The dharna has been organised by the BJP Yuva Morcha to demand the dismissal of the clemency plea for Mohammed Afzal Guru, who was convicted in the 2001 Parliament attack case.
Rahul Mahajan's hopes of a political career received a setback when he was charged with use and possession of drugs only two months ago.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court upheld the Sessions Court and High Court verdict and pronounced that caste, religion, region or political loyalty cannot be a basis for pardon, the Law Ministry took a stand on the issue of clemency for Guru.
The Law Ministry said that there is no compelling legal ground to grant clemency to Afzal even as the pressure from human rights activists builds up.
Human Rights activists pointed out certain points, which they say the Home Ministry needs to look at seriously.
These include the fact that Afzal never got a fair trial as he was never assigned a lawyer to defend himself in the lower court and the trial court. The POTA court, which is much harsher than the IPC, didn't give him the sentence of being hanged to death; instead the Supreme Court did.
Politicians from all quarters, including Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, pleaded that Afzal should not be hanged.
Abdullah said that the hanging will lead to large scale reactions and a rise in militancy. Citing the example of Maqbool Bhatt hanging, where the judge who gave the sentence was shot in Kashmir, Abdullah said that the judges need to be protected.
The Indian Express reported that after President APJ Abdul Kalam referred Afzal's mercy plea to the Government, the Law Ministry has said even though there's no direct evidence against Afzal, death sentence should be upheld based on circumstantial evidence and proper judicial process.
Afzal was sentenced to death after being convicted in December 13 Parliament attack case, a verdict that had led to protests in Kashmir.
Comments
0 comment