J&K CM slams double standards on death penalty

New Delhi: A day after the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed an unprecedented resolution asking the President to reconsider the mercy pleas of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's killers, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has stirred a controversy by comparing the clemency appeals of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and Rajiv Gandhi's killers.

Referring to Afzal Guru, who comes from Kashmir, the J&K Chief Minister asked on Twitter, "If J&K Assembly had passed a resolution similar to the Tamil Nadu one for Afzal Guru, would the reaction have been as muted? I think not."

But Omar has some support on this controversy.

"If Tamil Nadu can do this...some of these people are not even citizens of India...if this could be asked, that could also be asked. So, I think it's totally justified," said Cho Ramaswamy, Editor, Tuglak.

President Pratibha Patil had recently turned down the mercy pleas of Murugan, Santhan and Peraraivalan, convicted for killing Rajiv Gandhi. But it took Rashtrapati Bhavan 11 long years to decide this.

Afzal Guru's mercy plea too has been pending with the President's House for the last six years.

"How can you have two different standards - one for the Hindus...the LTTE and other for Afzal Guru? This will have huge ramification," said Janata Party President Subramanium swamy.

Meanwhile the BJP, which has always taken a hard line on death penalty, slammed Omar Abdullah for his remarks and accused him of playing the communal card.

"This is a sensitive issue and Omar Abdullah's comments on it are unfortunate. Had a Hurriyat leader made such remarks it was understandable but a responsible chief minister should not have said so. At a time when the Supreme Court has already given the death sentence, raking up this debate is unfortunate," BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.

While the Tamil Nadu Assembly and Omar Abdullah have politicised the issue of death penalty by giving a regional twist to the issue, the real problem lies with the President's House and the Central Government that takes years to decide on mercy petitions by death row convicts.

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#Omar Abdullah #death penalty #Afzal Guru #Rajiv Gandhi #Tamil Nadu Assembly #Madras High Court