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To Hang or Not to Hang?
By siliconindia
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Wednesday, 28 September 2011, 23:17 IST |
21 Comments
Bangalore: The slow march to the gallows is about to end and death seems to be hanging over their heads, but the political battlefield is deeply divided over the issue of capital punishment. The emotional sentiments backed by judiciary tend to overshadow the paradox of death penalty in India and the human rights argument is most likely to fail in the cases of Afzal Guru, Devender Pal Singh Bhullar and the three-accused in Rajiv Gandhi assassination.
It was a heavy blot on our national pride - The stain left by the attack on Indian Parliament cannot be erased and Afzal Guru's options are narrowing down to zero day by day. Afzal has been found guilty in the attack on Parliament on December 13, 2001 in which seven security personnel were killed. The government for a long time seemed to be hanged between the Indian-terrorist in Indian jail Afzal Guru and the Indians in the Pakistani prisons especially Sarabjit Singh whose clemency petition has been rejected over and over again by the Pak courts. However, under attack from many, the UPA government in a political masterstroke, asked the President to reject the mercy plea of Afzal Guru. In what could be an act of vengeance, the Pak government's counsel said no mercy petition was being considered for Sarabjit Singh by the president of Pakistan. Many have cried for clemency, many big names including Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, separatist leader Syed Ali Geelani and Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. The J&K Assembly saw a heated debate on the resolution filed by independent MLA Abdul Rashid Sheikh seeking clemency to Guru. Earlier Omar Abdulla's tweet had evoked a political discourse over the issue which said, "If J&K Assembly had passed a resolution similar to the Tamil Nadu one for Afzal Guru, would the reaction have been as muted? I think not."
