India: Prez to decide on Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's fate

New Delhi, Dec 14 (PTI) Under fire from opposition over the delay in carrying out the death sentence of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, the Indian government has put the onus on the country's President Pratibha Patil saying a decision on the issue has to be taken by her. Using the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Parliament attack on Tuesday, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) asked the government why it was not punishing those held guilty for the December 13, 2001 audacious strike. "Despite the Supreme Court confirming the sentence, the man (Afzal Guru) is still out there in jail.... The nation wants to know, why are we hesitating in punishing those guilty for the Parliament attack," Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said. "We come here every year to remember all those killed in the attack. There are two sides to the issue, one is to pay homage to those killed and the other is to carry out the sentence granted by the Supreme Court on the man responsible for being behind the attack conspiracy," she said at a function in Parliament House to pay homage to the nine people who lost their lives in the attack. BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad asked "Why the delay in Afzal Guru's (case). How long? Why? I think, the sooner that verdict is executed, it will be the biggest homage to those great warriors...," he said. Asked about the delay, India's Home Secretary R K Singh said, "The matter (clemency petition of Afzal Guru) is with the President and it is for the President to decide," he said. Admitting that the justice delivery system in the country was slow, Law Minister Salman Khurshid said efforts were on to ensure matters are decided in courts within three to five years. "We want quick justice in all matters. This (Parliament attack) is of course a symbolic and significant event that we cannot easily forget but nevertheless even for such an event there is not much one can do except to hope that our entire system learns to respond in a much faster manner," he said. The daughter of Kamlesh Kumari, a woman constable who was gunned down during the attack by LeT and JeM terrorists, echoed similar sentiments and demanded that Guru be hanged as soon as possible. All-India Anti-Terrorist Front (AIATF) chief M S Bitta, who has escaped terrorist strikes in the past, said there should be no delay in the execution of Guru. "Don't humiliate us...take back the petrol pumps that were given to us, but hang Guru." he said at an event where children of some of the victims were present. The Home Ministry had sent Guru's case to the President's Secretariat for a decision on July 27, 2011 with the recommendation that his mercy plea be rejected. Guru was convicted of conspiracy in the attack and the order to sentence him to death was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2004. The sentence was scheduled to be carried out on October 20, 2006. However, Guru's execution was stayed following a mercy petition filed by his wife. He remains on death row since then. The Constitution does not give any time limit for the President to decide on a clemency petition. PTI Caption for pic: People burn an effigy of Afzal Guru, convicted in the 2001 Parliament attack, on its 10th anniversary in Noida, a satellite town of Delhi, on Tuesday. PTI Photo