Nasheman

India's largest selling Urdu weekly, now also in English

You are here: Home / Archives for Afzal Guru

There are doubts over Afzal Guru’s role in Parliament attack: Chidambaram

by

P Chidambaram

New Delhi: Former Union Minister P Chidambaram who held the home and finance portfolios in the UPA government on Thursday sparked controversy that Afzal Guru’s role in 2001 Parliament attack was doubtful. Almost three years after Afzal Guru was hanged, Congress leader P Chidambaram is concerned to hold an ‘honest opinion’ and raised his doubts against the capital punishment of 2001 Parliament attack convict, report said.

Former Home Minister P Chidambaram was responding to a question on whether Afzal Guru’s execution ordered by the Supreme Court was appropriate. According to Chidambaram, Afzal Guru’s case was not correctly decided and there are possibility to hold an honest opinion in that matter. Chidambaram was quoted in an interview conducted by Economic Times.

Chidambaram was further quoted by ET where he said, “An independent person can hold an opinion that the case was not decided correctly”.

The comments of Chidambaram came in the backdrop of JNU incident in which three of its students are arrested on sedition charges and for commemorating Afzal Guru at the campus. Following the incident at JNU campus a nationwide debate is in motion. Those who hold a different opinion against the capital punishment of Afzal Guru are termed as anti-national.

However Chidambaram said that, “It is wrong to project anyone as an anti-national who holds that opinion”.

From 2008 to 2011 P Chidambaram, was home minister of India. In 2013 when Sushilkumar Shinde was home minister Afzal Guru was executed. Chidambaram raised doubt of extend of Afzal Guru’s involvement in 2001 Parliament Attack.

The Afzal Guru’s execution is a hot topic in India especially after JNU students were arrested on charges of sedition when the student union had organised a event on February 9, for commemorating Afzal Guru.

(Agencies)

JNU students union president arrested for Afzal Guru event

by

Kanhaiya Kumar

New Delhi: JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on Friday in connection with a case of sedition and criminal conspiracy over holding of an event at the prestigious institute against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

The case was registered yesterday under Section of 124 A (sedition) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC against unknown persons at Vasant Kunj (North) Police station following complaints by BJP MP Maheish Girri and ABVP.

“Kanhaiya Kumar has been arrested in connection with the case,” a senior police official said.

Two policemen in plain clothes came to the JNU campus today and picked up Kumar for questioning. He was later arrested, sources said.

A group of students on Tuesday held an event on the JNU campus and allegedly shouted slogans against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru in 2013.

The event occurred despite varsity administration having cancelled the permission following a complaint by ABVP members, who termed the activity as “anti-national”.

(Agencies)

JNU erupts over ‘Shaheed Afzal Guru’, ‘Azad Kashmir’; rival student groups clash, police deployed

by

Jawaharlal Nehru University Afzal Guru

New Delhi: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Tuesday night witnessed clashes between two student groups over Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who was hanged on February 09, 2013 in Tihar Jail.

The incident happened after a group of students organised a programme and termed the hanging of the Parliament attack convict as “judicial killing”.

The students allegedly shouted slogans hailing ‘Shaeed Afzal Guru’ and also chanted anti-India slogans. They also expressed solidarity with “struggle” of Kashmiri migrants and advocated for ‘Azad Kashmir’.

Notably, the university authorities had not give permission to hold any programme supporting Afzal Guru as they “feared” the same might “disrupt” peace on campus.

Student organisers had pasted posters across the campus inviting them to gather for a protest march against “judicial killing of Afzal Guru” and in solidarity with “struggle” of Kashmiri migrants, at varsity’s Sabarmati dhaba.

Members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) affiliated ABVP objected to such a program and complained to the Vice Chancellor.

However, when the other group didn’t relent and went ahead with the event, the ABVP supporters went ahead and protested, which led to the scuffle between the two student groups.

The authorities later called the police in order to restore law and order in the campus.

JNU VC Jagdeesh Kumar told PTI, “Earlier we were told that it is going to be a cultural programme. When I got to know that it is a protest, we decided to cancel the programme as it is administration’s responsibility to ensure peace and calm on campus.”

(PTI)

 

UPA hanged Afzal Guru for political reasons: Omar Abdullah

by

He said no as he had signed the paper and warrant has been issued and asked me to deal with the implications.”

omar-abdullah

New Delhi: The controversial hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru had been carried out for “political reasons” by the UPA government which had informed him “only hours before,” former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah said today.

Out for a dinner with his sister at a Delhi restaurant, Omar received a call from the then Home Minister SushilkumarShinde informing him that he had signed the papers for Guru to be hanged early next morning and asking him to make law and order arrangements.

Even as a last minute effort, Omar told PTI, “I asked the Home Minister whether he was sure that nothing can be done.

He said no as he had signed the paper and warrant has been issued and asked me to deal with the implications.”

Pointing out that the cases of assassins of Rajiv Gandhi and Beant Singh had been handled differently, he said, “the fact is whether we like it or not he was hanged for political reasons. It’s a fact.”

“I had said I will not pass judgement on it until I see how Government handles other cases… I have seen other cases. Look how they handled assassins of Beant Singh and Rajiv Gandhi and look how they jumped this guy up the queue.

“Clearly what other conclusion can you arrive at other than this that they wanted to deny BJP another handle to beat them with in the general elections and, therefore, the easiest two people to be hanged were AjmalKasab because he was a foreign national and Afzal Guru. Whether I like it or not, but they did it,” he said.

Guru, who was at serial number 28 in the list of condemned prisoners, was hanged on February 9, 2013. A controversy broke out as his family got news of his hanging on television.

Omar Abdullah’s National Conference was part of the UPA government at the time of the hanging and his father, Dr Farooq Abdullah, was a Cabinet Minister at the Center. The alliance continued till the General Elections of May 2014.

Omar, working President of National Conference which lost power in the December 2014 Assembly elections, termed the Guru issue a ‘sword of Damocles’ hanging over him, saying he had been apprising the Centre from time to time about the implications of Guru’s execution.

“The Afzal Guru execution was something that was discussed all through my tenure. Because we knew it was like a sword of Damocles hanging over us. So from time to time the implications of it were conveyed to the Government of India both to Mr P Chidambaram and to MrShinde,” he said.

The implications were always conveyed to the Centre but the concerns multiplied when Kasab, lone survivor of the terrorist team which created mayhem in Mumbai on 26/11, was hanged, he said.

“The general feeling was this that once they have done this, Guru is going to be next and I did place my reservations on record at the time as to what the implications of this would be,” the former Chief Minister said, adding that he was “told that a decision hasn’t been taken but it is being contemplated”.

(PTI)

PDP demands return of Afzal Guru's mortal remains

by

Mufti Mohammad Sayeed

Srinagar: Ruling PDP in Jammu and Kashmir today demanded from the NDA government the return of the mortal remains of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, a day after assuming power in alliance with BJP.

Eight PDP MLAs issued a statement in this regard saying the party “promises to follow vigorously” for the return of the mortal remains.

Guru was hanged on February 9, 2013 inside Tihar Jail.

“PDP stands by the demand for return of his (Guru’s) mortal remains, and the party promises to follow vigorously for the return of the mortal remains,” the PDP statement said.

The legislators who signed the statement are Mohammad Khalil Bandh, Zahoor Ahmed Mir, Raja Manzoor Ahmad, Mohd Abas Wani, Yawar Dilawar Mir, Advocate Mohd Yosuf, Aijaz Ahmad Mir and Noor Mohd Sheikh.

“PDP has always maintained that late Afzal Guru’s hanging was travesty of justice and constitutional requirements and process was not followed in hanging him out of turn,” the statement said.

“The way he was picked up from serial no.28 and singled out has been condemned by PDP and it stands by the demand for return of his mortal remains…,” it said.

“We believe that the resolution brought by Independent MLA Rashid Ahmed to seek clemency for late Afzal Guru was justified and should have been adopted by the House at that time,” he said.

In 2011, the resolution seeking clemency for Guru could not be taken up in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly due to pandemonium in the House.

The resulotion became void as according to rules, any listed business that does not come up for discussion would lapse.

(PTI)

KNOW US

GET INVOLVED

PROMOTE

Archives