'Don't provoke victims of 12/13 attack'
On the eve of the 5th anniversary of the Dec 13 attack on Parliament, Home minister Shivraj Patil said...
By TNN |
NEW DELHI: On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the December 13 attack on Parliament, there was an attempt at ‘politically correct sanitising’ of the mercy petition from Mohd Afzal in the Lok Sabha. Home minister Shivraj Patil, who undertook the task, asked the Opposition not to provoke relatives of the victims of the December 13 terror attack to mount pressure on the government for rejecting the clemency petition of Afzal.
The relatives of the nine security personnel, who laid down their lives in the attack, had threatened to return the gallantry awards. The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by Opposition leader L K Advani. He said the issue should be addressed by the government immediately.
The home minister, who began his reply by referring to the procedural format — the mercy petition is assessed by various arms of the government like the home and law ministries — said that swift action on demand for rejection of clemency could “divide the country.”
Although the minister did not elaborate on how the demand for rejection of clemency to a terror accused would divide the society, the BJP was quick to project it as part of a larger “appeasement” plan.
That the appeasement theme could be on at the centre of the discourse was evident when the BJP on Monday decided to take the campaign against the prime minister for his ‘Muslim should have the first claim on resources’ statement to the streets.
The relatives of the nine security personnel, who laid down their lives in the attack, had threatened to return the gallantry awards. The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by Opposition leader L K Advani. He said the issue should be addressed by the government immediately.
The home minister, who began his reply by referring to the procedural format — the mercy petition is assessed by various arms of the government like the home and law ministries — said that swift action on demand for rejection of clemency could “divide the country.”
Although the minister did not elaborate on how the demand for rejection of clemency to a terror accused would divide the society, the BJP was quick to project it as part of a larger “appeasement” plan.
That the appeasement theme could be on at the centre of the discourse was evident when the BJP on Monday decided to take the campaign against the prime minister for his ‘Muslim should have the first claim on resources’ statement to the streets.
Download
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
The Economic Times Business News App for the Latest News in Business, Sensex, Stock Market Updates & More.
Download
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
The Economic Times News App for Quarterly Results, Latest News in ITR, Business, Share Market, Live Sensex News & More.
ADVERTISEMENT
