Afzal can't be hanged 'instantly': Singhvi

New Delhi, Nov 27: Contending that seeking compulsory appeal against capital punishment is as bad as compulsory hanging, Congress MP and noted lawyer Abhisek Manu Singhvi today said the UPA government could not be hustled into taking an ''expeditious'' decision on the hanging of Afzal Guru, the prime convict in the December 2001 Parliament terror attack case.

''Under Article 372 of the Constitution, Afzal has every right to make an appeal against the capital punishment awarded to him by the court,'' Mr Singhvi said, while participating in a short duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the internal security situation in the country.

Pointing out that appeal for clemency was a long-drawn process and entailed review at various levels, he asserted that instantaneous action on Afzal's hanging was just not possible.

Reminding the opposition NDA that its government had sat for years on a similar petition by the killers of Rajiv Gandhi, Mr Singhvi said, ''We are not tinpot dictators but rather a vibrant democracy, and all the legal aspects of the case have to be dealt with. Let the President decide.'' Mr Singhvi also referred to a recent observation of the Supreme Court that it had the final word on the review of all clemency petitions, and there was no reason for the opposition to get exercised over the issue.

''The demand by the opposition that he (Afzal) should be hanged instantly without further ado does not behove it,'' he said.

He also berated the opposition for its allegation that the UPA government was being soft on the issue of terrorism.

''It was during the NDA regime that Peter Bleach, the prime convict in the Purulia arms dropping case, was physically let free and escorted out of the country,'' he said.

With regard to Jammu and Kashmir, he said the UPA government had adopted a healing touch policy, resulting in appreciable decline in the killing of both civilians and terrorists in the state.

''The impression being given that Jammu and Kashmir is falling apart is estranged from reality,'' he contended in his nearly 45-minute speech.

On the Naxalite issue, Mr Singhvi said it was a localised problem.

Andhra Pradesh had witnessed a dramatic decrease in Naxal activities while Chhattisgarh had registered a dramatic increase in such activities, he said, adding that the issue needed to be discussed dispassionately, rising above political considerations.

Samajwadi Party member Shahid Siddiqui regretted the biases against minorities in recruitment in intelligence agencies, which had been underlined by the Justice Rajinder Sachar Committee report.

''We have not been able to develop a consensus on internal security situation because of our vote bank politics,'' he said.

Mr Siddiqui said this might sound unpalatable but the failure of intelligence agencies' in several cases had to be accepted.

''The functioning of intelligence agencies like RAW and IB needs to be discussed in Parliament. In addition, efforts have to be made to insulate them from political interefernce.'' Referring to the recent spurt in Naxal activities, he said left-wing extremism was an offshoot of distortions in the political system. ''The sense of alienation among the youth has to be tackled without any delay,'' he added.

UNI

Related Stories