NEW DELHI: Most political parties, barring the Bharatiya Janata Party, on Saturday condemned the execution of the former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein. The Congress said the hanging validated its apprehensions of "victors' justice," as there were "clear procedural difficulties" in the trial process. The "undue haste in execution" did not carry any credibility. "Nevertheless, we hope that this unfortunate event will not stand in the way of the process of restoring normality and reconciliation in Iraq."

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) denounced the execution, which "will be condemned by all those who believe that an imperialist occupying power has no right to violate national sovereignty and dispense justice on those whom they had illegally overthrown."

The party said the execution would increase the hatred against the U.S. among the Arab people, and called upon all its units and democratic organisations to protest "this heinous act." The Government of India should realise that its strategic alliance with the Bush administration would harm the country's interests.

The CPI condemned the "hurried" execution without going through the full process of law.

"This act will aggravate the situation in Iraq, making it difficult to restore normality. It may even lead to the break-up of that country, which was a cradle of ancient civilisation."

All India Trade Union Congress general secretary Gurudas Dasgupta noted that the trial was against the accepted norms of international law.

General secretary of the Centre of Indian Trade Unions Chittabrata Majumdar said the killing was a "cruel act of vengeance with a political motive."

Lok Jan Shakti Party president and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan called it a "dark passage" in world history. Iraq was among the first countries to recognise Bangladesh as an independent nation. Mr. Hussein had always supported India on the Kashmir issue and assisted it during the oil crisis, he pointed out.

"A huge mistake"

The Janata Dal (United), a National Democratic Alliance partner, said the execution was an "unjust action," which showed the U.S. quest for domination of the world was undermining all international norms.

Describing the U.S invasion of Iraq as a "huge mistake," the party president Sharad Yadav called upon "all those who believe in justice and fair play" to stand up against this undemocratic and short sighted action.

Samajwadi Party leaders Amar Singh and Shahid Siddiqui criticised the Government of India for its "mild and ritualistic" reaction over the killing of a consistent friend of the country.

Mr. Singh said the execution was a slap in the face of all those nations, including India, which had sworn by morality and rule of law. The party would observe a "black day" in Uttar Pradesh on January 4 to protest the "murder"

Rebel Janata Dal (Secular) president Surendra Mohan said the execution might ring the death knell for American imperialism.

"A secular person"

The former Rajya Sabha Chairperson and BJP leader, Najma Heptullah, described Mr. Hussein a "secular" person but did not comment on the hanging. "We consider him a friend of India and a secular man. He was an Iraqi leader. The Iraqi people should decide whether this decision was right or wrong. I cannot speak because he was not my leader or leader of our country," she said.

Bad news: Lalu

PTI reports:

In Thiruvananthapuram, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad said the whole nation was shocked. "It is bad news for the whole world. The Rashtriya Janata Dal condemns the execution," he told presspersons.

"Blot on humanity"

In Mumbai, Union Minister Sharad Pawar termed the execution a "blot on humanity". The Nationalist Congress Party president blamed Iraq's "puppet" government for it.

"What the puppet government has done will be hard to digest for all civilised people," he told reporters.

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