Chidambaram-Afzal row: Guru was perpetrator of Parliament attack, says Congress

26 February, New Delhi

A day after senior Congress leader P Chidambaram expressed doubt about the extent of Afzal Guru’s involvement in 2001 Parliament attack, the party today said Afzal was tried as perpetrator of ”most heinous crime” by the then UPA regime and stressed that it also ensured that a hard punishment be given to him for it.

Addressing mediapersons here, AICC media in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala said, Chidambaram has categorically said he as Home Minister and the then Congress government pursued the case against Guru as a perpetrator of most heinous crime and saw to it that ends of the justice are fructified up to the Supreme Court.

”We demanded, pursued and advocated for harshest punishment which was given to Afzal Guru and subsequently to Mumbai Terror Attack convict Ajmal Kasab. This is the nutshell of what Chidambaram had said,” the Congress leader said.

Earlier, Chidambaram said Afzal matter was ‘perhaps not correctly decided’ and it was possible to hold an honest opinion on the case, the Economic Times quoted him as saying. It was during the tenure of UPA, in which Chidambaram was Home Minister, that Afzal’s mercy plea was rejected.”

There were grave doubts about his involvement and even if he was involved, there were great doubts about the extent of his involvement. He could have been imprisoned for life without parole for the rest of his natural life,” a English daily quoted him as saying.