Patil Asked to Sit on Afzal Guru File: Shiela

In what could be termed as the revelation of the reason causing delay on parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s mercy plea, Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit has admitted that then Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has asked her government to sit on the file, said media reports.

“May be what you are thinking is true,” Dikshit was quoted as saying in an interview to a TV channel in response to a query whether Patil had told her to keep the matter pending.

Citing sources, reports said that soon after file came to Delhi government in 2006, Patil had made it clear that there was no hurry.

“He kept saying so throughout 2007 and 2008. Even when the delay in Afzal Guru’s hanging became an issue during the 2008 Assembly elections, there was no change in the position. The direction clearly was that no matter how many reminders went from the ministry, the file should not be cleared,” a source was quoted as saying.

Responding to a query as to why Patil would give such an instruction when his own ministry was sending reminder every three months, the source was quoted as saying: “There does not seem to be any other reason beyond the possibility that the home minister may have been reluctant to take the onus of clearing Afzal’s file on himself. That pre-poll pressure built up by BJP did not make any difference shows he was not on the lookout for an electorally beneficial opportunity to dispose of the file.”

(Based on internet reports)