The Shiv Sena and the BJP have already cornered the Congress-NCP ruling combine over the execution of the verdict.
The capital punishment awarded to Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks, has become a plank for opposition parties in the state to target the government.
The Shiv Sena and the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) have already cornered the Congress-NCP ruling combine over the execution of the verdict.
Dismissing the verdict as an obvious one, the opposition said the bigger question before the government is whether it will actually fast-track Kasab’s hanging.
BJP president Nitin Gadkari, who is unsure if the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government would actually implement Kasab’s death sentence, said: “Afzal Guru (convicted for 2001 Parliament attack) was sentenced to death, but he is still around.”
Criticising the UPA government for not executing convicts like Afzal Guru, Gadkari said there are many who have been awarded capital punishment but “not hanged as the Congress is playing vote-bank politics”.
Another senior BJP leader Madhav Bhandari said: “I am appalled by the Congress’ argument that there are 28 other convicts awaiting death sentence and so Kasab will have to wait. When Indira Gandhi was assassinated, the death sentence to her killers (Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh) was given without delay. Their mercy petition before the president was cleared within a month.”
Chief minister Ashok Chavan, however, said he was happy with the transparent manner in which the case had reached its logical conclusion. “The verdict against Kasab should be implemented as soon as possible,” Chavan said. His deputy Chhagan Bhujbal adopted a tougher tone. “The verdict against Kasab will be a warning to India’s enemies. His crime was so heinous that he deserved maximum punishment,” said Bhujbal.
The state has so far spent Rs30 crore for keeping Kasab alive and if the trial continues in higher courts for the next 2-3 years, the government’s expense of keeping Kasab alive would cross Rs100 crore. Home minister RR Patil, however, said that by keeping Kasab alive; India has exposed the role of Pakistan-based militant organisations like the Lashkar-e-Taiba in terror activities. “We have proved that Pakistan has promoted terrorism against India,” said Patil.
Sena MP Bharatkumar Raut said that if the Congress delayed executing Kasab’s verdict it would be a case of “justice delayed being equal to justice denied”.
“The political intent of the Congress lies in how quickly the court verdict is implemented. If the Congress delays sentencing Kasab; what is the message we would be sending out to the world? Will Pakistan take us seriously?” Raut said, adding that Kasab’s was an exceptional case and it should not be equated with the other pending capital punishments.
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