No delay in carrying out death sentence: Union Minister Mullappally Ramachandran

KOZHIKODE: Refuting the charge that there was delay in hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, Union Minister Mullappally Ramachandran today said quick implementation of decision is not possible in such cases.

"In such cases we cannot implement the decision all of a sudden. We have to examine the legal aspects etc. The delay was only procedural and nothing more than that," he said.

"There was no delay," the Union Minister of State for Home said on the sidelines of a function here, in response to mediapersons' query on the delay in implementing the death sentence.

Refuting the allegation that government was trying to derive political mileage in view of Parliament elections, Ramachandran said, "It is not true."

There was demand from across the country for hanging Afzal. Parliament sessions were also disrupted seeking implementation of the death sentence."Hence the allegations are baseless," he said.

The Supreme Court had given the judgement and it was confirmed by the President, he said.

To a question whether Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman P J Kurien should resign from the post in view of the allegation levelled by the victim in the Suryanelli gangrape case, Ramachandran said it had happened 17 years ago and Kurien had been exonerated by the Supreme Court.

The CPI(M)-led LDF if it had new evidence in the case should have produced it while it was governing the state earlier, he said.