Victims' families must take back gall medals: Govt

New Delhi, Dec 13: The Government will negotiate with the families of the securitymen killed in the attack on Parliament in 2001 in a bid to persuade them to take back the gallantry awards returned by them in protest.

It will explain to them the procedure of decision-making in the clemency petition by convict Mohammad Afzal Guru, who has been ordered to be hanged by the Supreme Court for the attack, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs P R Dasmunsi told reporters here today.

Mr Dasmunsi said he had had a talk with the families of the security personnel, who had laid down their lives during the attack on Parliament, today to know their grievances. He would report back to Home Minister Shivraj Patil about the outcome of his discussion with them. ''We will convey to them the whole situation in the right perspective.'' Describing as unfortunate Leader of the Opposition L K Advani's observations on the return of gallantry awards by the affected families, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister said a wrong impression was being sought to be created that the Government was shielding the Parliament attack convict.

He recalled that the clemency petitions of assassinators of late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi were kept in the cold storage for as many as five years.

Replying to a question, Mr Dasmunsi said he had had a talk with West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee when he requested the latter to create a congenial atmosphere for a dialogue with the fasting Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee in protest against the allotment of cultivable land to the Tatas in Singur for setting a car manufacturing plant. He had requested the Chief Minister to take due cognizance of the concerns expressed by Ms Banerjee.

The Chief Minister, he said, had ruled out the possibility of a rollback of his decision to allot land to the Tatas as he had already allotted the land. However, he would talk to the Chief Minister again this evening, he said.

UNI

Related Stories
Par attack martyrs families return gallantry medals