Hang Afzal? 'Secular' concerns

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<b>On Afzal, Cong yet to feel 7-year-itch</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->The hypocrisy of the Congress can be perceived from the fact that the Centre has for the fifth time sent a reminder to the Delhi Government, seeking the status report on Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s death sentence.

Sources said that a few days before the Delhi Assembly poll, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had sent a reminder to the Department of Home (DoH) of Delhi Government seeking the status report about the sentence of Afzal Guru, the main convict in the December 13, 2001, Parliament attack.

Well-placed sources told The Pioneer that the mercy petition continues to be in a limbo as the Department of Home has chosen to remain silent on when it would submit its views. The Opposition BJP has been blaming the ruling Congress for deliberately not clearing Afzal’s file. The mercy petition was referred to the Delhi Government for its comments on October 4, 2006.

According to sources, MHA had earlier also sent reminders to the Delhi Government seeking the status report. “This is the fifth reminder by the MHA,” said sources. The Centre’s reminders merely show the hypocrisy of the Congress Government at the Centre since law and order are non-transferable subjects in Delhi and the Home Department doesn’t come under the purview of the Delhi Government.

The department directly reports to the Lieutenant Governor’s office, which comes under MHA. “If the Centre wants to clear Afzal’s file, it can be cleared in a day. But political compulsions ahead of elections forced the ruling Congress to keep in abeyance the Afzal file,” the sources added.
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