The Hanging of Afzal Guru has mixed political reactions across the country. While everyone praised UPA Government for being decisive at last, Â several leaders criticized the delay.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh cancelled his visit to Tripura and Nagaland following protests at several places against the hanging. “The prime minister has cancelled his trip due to urgent administrative work in Delhi in connection with Afzal Guru’s execution,” Tripura Congress chief Sudip Roy Barman told reporters.
BJP Leader Najma Heptullah expressed concern about the Destruction of the Parliament.
“There was 30 kg of RDX (explosives) in the their car…It would have been enough to destroy the entire building,” Heptulla, who was in her office Dec 13, 2001, told Times Now news channel.
“I was not worried about myself…I saw my personal security officer Yadav shot dead at gate number 11 on CCTV,” Heptulla said while recalling the events of that fateful day.
Members of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal scuffled with Kashmiri youths at Jantar Mantar.
Around 25 members of the VHP and Bajrang Dal gathered at Jantar Mantar in central Delhi during afternoon and raised slogans against Afzal Guru. They celebrated his hanging at the Tihar Jail and distributed sweets and burst firecrackers.
Minutes later, around 20 Kashmiri students from the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Delhi University (DU) arrived at the venue, holding placards that read “I am Afzal, hang me too” and chanted “Azad Kashmir” (Independent Kashmir).
They were accompanied by members of CPI(M-L), Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR) and National Confederation of Human Rights Organisations (NCHRO), who were condemning capital punishment.
As these activists tried to put up posters supporting Afzal, the right-wing groups snatched the posters and tore them. Â Tensions escalated as the rival protests took on a communal hue wihen both groups raised religious slogans and scuffled with each other as police struggled to keep them separated.