BJP apprehends Centre may defer a decision on Afzal

New Delhi, Oct 4 (UNI) The BJP feels that the Centre may not take any conclusive action over capital punishment to Mohammad Afzal Guru and keep the issue unresolved, senior party leader Arun Jaitley said today.

It is evident by the Congress' ''ambiguous position'' over the issue, he said.

The issue has become an albatross around the government neck and the from the look of it the UPA administration will advise the President to defer the hanging till 2009. ''It would be better for them if they amend their slogan to 'Congress ke haath Afzal ke saath','' he told mediapersons.

The BJP is convinced that there was no graver crime than an attack on symbol of Indian democracy, Mr Jaitley said.

Party spokesman Prakash Javadekar said the party had strongly condemned the statements of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad pleading clemency for Afzal.

When reminded about former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Uma Bharti holding BJP responsible for the release of Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar in exchange of hostages onboard the Indian Airlines flight hijacked to Kandahar, Mr Javadekar said the BJP did not want to react to the statements of frustrated leader like Ms Bharti.

The decision was taken in the interest of saving precious lives and Ms Bharti should not forget that she too was party to the 'unanimous decision' of the NDA government, Mr Javadekar asserted.

The Congressmen did not plead for clemency for Sardar Bhagat Singh when he was convicted for attacking the British on the ground that they did not support violence as an instrument for liberation but the same party does not mind advocating clemency for Afzal who was found guilty by three Courts and is slated to be hanged on October 20, said cricketer turned BJP MP Navjot Singh Sidhu.

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