We should follow court verdict on Parliament attack convict: BJP

New Delhi, Sep 29 (ANI): Expressing dissatisfaction over the delay in the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said that the court has decided to punish him through the process of law and that it should be let at that.

Talking to mediapersons here, Sitharaman said that capital punishment accussed have undergone justified trials and should not be relieved without being punished.

"We are here talking about terrorists who have attacked the Indian sovereignty whether it's the Parliament whether its' the Prime Minister, and therefore, we are not making any differentiation between one or the other. Very clearly, when these people have been caught and then taken to the courts, the cases have gone through their due course and, the courts have thought it fit to give them whatever punishment they have been given," she said.

"And subsequently, some of them have even gone through appealing mercy from the president, and therefore, as long as this country, which permits giving capital punishment, and it has been decided through a process of law that they have been given capital punishment, I think we should leave it at that," she added.

Guru was awarded the death sentence by a court in 2002 after being convicted for conspiracy to attack the Parliament, waging war against the country and murder.

The Delhi High Court upheld the death sentence in 2003 and his appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court two years later.

Following this, Afzal Guru filed a mercy petition with the President, who forwarded it to the Home Ministry for its comments.

A group of gun-and grenade-wielding militants had stormed Parliament in December 2001, but were stopped by security personnel.

The attack led to the death of a dozen people, including six policemen, a civilian and five militants of the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT).(ANI)