As BJP disrupts LS over Afzal Guru hanging, anguished Speaker reminds them of 13 people's supreme sacrifice

"If they fix a date (for hanging Guru) and announce it today, this would be the real tribute to these martyrs," the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said inside Parliament House complex.

She was talking to reporters soon after paying homage to the nine martyrs of the 2001 Parliament attack.

Swaraj said every year the country pays homage to these martyrs. "But one question is still unanswered that the attacker who has been twice or thrice sentenced to death by the Supreme Court, why has he not been hanged so far?"

She said after the hanging of 26/11 Mumbai terror convict Ajmal Kasab, "hope has increased that the government will show courage to do what it has not done so far."

Minister of State for Home R P N Singh criticised Swaraj for making the demand, saying the occasion should not be politicised.

"We have just paid tributes to those martyrs. I think it is extremely unfortunate that the moment we get away from there, we get into politics... I think to politicise this thing on every December 13, is not paying real homage to martyrs of this country," he said.

Singh said matters related to hanging convicts are not dealt by Parliament and are handled by the courts.

"There is a process that has been explained by Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde. He has said the file is lying with him and he will look at it and make notings after the Parliament session," he said.

Govt committed to passing Whistle Blowers Protection Bill: Narayanasamy

The government is committed to passing of the Whistle Blowers Protection Bill during the current session of Parliament, Minister of State for Personnel V Narayanasamy told Rajya Sabha today.

He said during Question Hour that the Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, 2011 was passed by the Lok Sabha on December 27, 2011 and thereafter sent to the Upper House.

... contd.

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