Chidambaram slams Amit Shah’s claim on Afzal Guru execution: ‘Mercy plea was pending before President’

The Congress leader said Shah’s statement was a mixture of insinuation, lie and distortion. He said the mercy petition filed by Guru’s wife was pending before the President when he was home minister.

“The statement is a mixture of insinuation, lie and distortion. After the conviction and sentence by the Courts, Afzal Guru’s wife filed, on his behalf, a mercy petition to the President of India in October 2006,” Chidambaram said.

“The President rejected the mercy petition on 3-2-2013. Afzal Guru was hanged six days later on 9-2-2013. I was Home Minister during 1-12-2008 and 31-7-2012. During the entire period, the mercy petition was pending before the President. The law is that a sentence of death cannot be carried out until the mercy petition is disposed of,” he said.