Congress distances itself from Chidambaram's remark

NEW DELHI: Congress today distanced itself from its senior leader P Chidambaram's remark that the case of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who was hanged in 2013, "was perhaps not correctly decided".

"The decision of the honourable Supreme Court in the Afzal Guru case is final and declaratory of law and justice in the case. It is futile to reopen this debate since the matter has attained judicial finality. Every citizen and instrumentality of the government is bound in law to accept the judgment of the final court," party spokesman Ashwani Kumar told reporters.

Kumar, also a senior advocate like Chidambaram, said that "Congress party accepts the SC judgment in the case as final and correct".

Replying to a question, he said the Supreme Court has itself said that "we are not infallible but we are final"

Chidambaram has been quoted as having said in a newspaper interview that he felt it was possible to hold an "honest opinion" that the Afzal Guru case was "perhaps not correctly decided" and that there were "grave doubts about the extent of his involvement" in the Parliament attack.

Chidambaram was Union Home minister when Afzal Guru's mercy plea was rejected by the previous UPA government in 2011.