NEW DELHI: Congress on Monday said it was preposterous to call Afzal Guru's hanging as timed to help the ruling party in elections, dismissing the allegations that have accompanied the execution of the Parliament attack case convict.
"Elections are one-and-a-half years away and it is a long time in politics," AICC spokesman Sandeep Dikshit said, facing a barrage of queries on the timing of Guru's execution.
Guru was hanged six years after he was awarded the death penalty, leading BJP to accuse the government of being dictated by votebank considerations.
While the hanging caught everyone by surprise, observers called it an attempt by Congress to cover its flanks against the BJP which has turned it into a political issue.
The consensus is that Congress has begun to take out polarizing issues from the poll menu, first executing Mumbai attack gunman Ajmal Kasab and following it up with Guru. That the hangings came inside three months have only heightened the surprise.
Dikshit strongly defended the Centre's action though there was a feeling that the execution was not handled well, with the family getting the letter informing about the proposed execution on Monday, two days after the hanging.
While underlining that the death sentence had been upheld by three courts and also affirmed by the Supreme Court, Dikshit said, "So, I think we must accept what the Supreme Court has said because it is the best judge of whether somebody is guilty or not."
The party also termed as "unfortunate" the fears expressed by J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah that Kashmiri youngsters were identifying themselves with Guru. "There can be some people in the Valley who might be associated with this ideology but we believe that justice has been done," the spokesman said.
At the same time, Dikshit refused to comment on the detention of a journalist related to Kashmir separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani on the day of the execution.
Congress also hit out at separatist JKLF leader Yasin Malik for sharing a dais with LeT chief Hafiz Saeed on his Pakistan trip. "Government must inquire into it. There have been three instances in the last three months in which people of a certain thought in the Valley have gone to Pakistan and met people there (Saeed)," Dikshit said.
No poll considerations in Guru’s hanging: Congress
This article
No poll considerations in Guru’s hanging: Congress
can be opened in url
http://newstelestich.blogspot.com/2013/02/no-poll-considerations-in-gurus-hanging.html
No poll considerations in Guru’s hanging: Congress
