'I didn't get any papers on clemency to Afzal'

New Delhi, July 27: Lifting the veil on a contentious issue that had gripped his Presidency, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam said he did not receive any papers on clemency for Afzal Guru, the prime accused and death row convict in the December 13, 2001 Parliament terror attack.

''I have not received any papers from the ministry concerned so far. If the papers had come to me, I would have processed them for their worth,'' Dr Kalam told India Today in an interview, conducted two days before he relinquished office as President of India.

''Before the government sends me papers of this nature, it has to go through several processes; it has to check with the Cabinet and also the state government concerned. It is going through that process.'' Asked about his personal views on the death penalty, he said as President, he had to have only one view. ''After the 25th (the day he laid down office), I will have a dfferent view.'' Dr Kalam said as President, he received many requests for clemency for death penalties and he found that most of them pertained to people from the lower strata of society.

''I had sought certain information from the ministry concerned and we are still discussing them. Regarding Afzal Guru, I have not received any papers from the ministry concerned so far.'' During the interview, Dr Kalam spoke on various issues, including the controversial decision to dissolve the Bihar Assembly in 2005, his stand on the Office of Profit issue, his tenure in Rasina Hill and India's civilian nuclear deal with the US.

About his decision to dissolve the Bihar Assembly that drew flak from the Supreme Court, Dr Kalam said he did not have any regrets. ''At that time, I was in Russia and I took the decision there. Wherever I go, I am electronically connected to my office, whether in India or abroad. I had detailed discussions with the prime minister on the issue and whatever other information was needed was electronically transmitted to me. Based on that, I took a decision.'' He, however, said if he were to be present in India, he would have sent back the file (for more details). Still, he asked certain questions and the prime minister discussed it with him twice.

''And then the relevant papers were transmitted to me electronically. Only then I took a decision,'' he disclosed.

On the Office-of-Profit (OoF) issue, Dr Kalam said he had to return it to Parliament for the first time. It was debated and discussed in Parliament and created the necessary impact.

Asked about the impact, he said the government appointed a committee to look into the issue though it still had to submit the report.
On his working with two prime ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh Dr Kalam said each had ''a unique core competence'' and they had developed certain ways of decision-making.

''Both were concerned about accelerated national development. I had an excellent relationship with both prime ministers and enjoyed working with them.''>