Afzal Guru hanging file on Delhi Lt governor's desk again

The political ping-pong on the curious case of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s mercy petition file continues.

In a matter of two days, the file has been sent to Delhi lieutenant governor (LG) Tejinder Khanna’s office, been returned to the state home department seeking “clarifications” and shuttled back to the LG’s office again.

The state government is mum on the queries raised by the LG while returning the file hours after receiving it on Tuesday, maintaining that they were “minor clarifications” that had been addressed. But highly placed sources in the LG’s office claimed
otherwise.

It appears that Delhi CM, who has been in the dock for sitting over Guru’s file for the past four years, hastily forwarded Guru’s file to the LG office on Tuesday, hoping to end the brouhaha on the issue. Sadly for Dikshit, her move only invited a terse note from Khanna.

Sources say the Delhi home department had backed the death sentence for Guru but asked the LG to take a final call after examining the repercussions of executing the sentence on the law and order situation. Given the complex administrative set up of Delhi, law and order falls under the union home ministry and in effect with the LG’s office, an excuse invoked by Dikshit while passing the buck on the issue.

But Dikshit’s hasty clearance of Guru’s file didn’t impress the LG.
Highly placed sources in the LG’s office told DNA, while Khanna agreed that law and order fell under his domain but the assessment on the executing the sentence should have been made by the state home department. With the ball once again in Dikshit’s court, the CM remained evasive on queries posed by media persons on the issue.