Prez asked to reject Guru's mercy plea

The union home ministry has asked the President, Ms Pratibha Patil's office to reject parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's mercy plea, informed sources said.

Guru is on the death row since 2002 for the 2001 parliament attack. His wife Tabassum filed a mercy petition with the Rashtrapati Bhavan four years ago.

The sources said the mercy petition was sent to the home ministry for its view and it returned the file last week, rejecting the plea because of the heinous nature of the crime.

With the home ministry recommending that the plea be rejected, it is now up to the president to take a call on the fate of Guru, exercising her powers under Article 72 of the constitution.

Shivraj demands execution of Afzal Guru's death sentence

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan has demanded the execution of the death sentence of Afzal Guru who was found guilty in the attack on Parliament. Speaking at the Chief Ministers' Conference on Internal Security at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, Mr. Chauhan said that it was unfortunate that “we have so far spent Rs.20 crore on the security of Afzal Guru and yet are unable to take a final decision on the issue of execution of his death sentence”.

Mr. Chauhan also said that delay in awarding punishment to Afzal Guru and Kasab was reducing people's faith in the judicial procedure of the country, which was not good for Indian democracy.

To reign in corruption, money laundering and the presence of black money, Mr. Chauhan demanded the immediate closure of circulation of Rs.1000 and Rs. 500 currency notes in the country. He said that with this measure it would be difficult and impractical for forgers to print and transport currency notes of denominations Rs.100 and Rs.50.

Mr. Chauhan also said that the M.P. police had done a commendable job in controlling the spread of naxal violence in the State. The Chief Minister said that the naxal organisations are increasingly spreading their presence in districts like Dindori, Mandla, Anuppur, Shahdol, Sidhi and Singrauli of the State which are bordering Chhattisgarh and Uttar Pradesh. Due to this, he demanded that these districts should also be included in the reimbursement of the expenditure made on security.