A week after the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence awarded to the prime accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attack case, Ajmal Kasab, Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Milind Deora has written to President Pranab Mukherjee requesting early execution of the Pakistani terrorist.
“While it is true that Mumbai’s enduring spirit and indomitable will will help in its collective healing, it has also been the wish of every Mumbaikar and Indian that the perpetrators of the heinous crime be brought to justice swiftly under the law of the land,” said Mr. Deora, who represents South Mumbai in Lok Sabha, in his letter on Thursday. “To honour the wish of all Mumbaikars and in the interest of justice, it is my fervent appeal that the verdict of the Supreme Court be implemented expeditiously.”
Mr. Deora, who posted the letter on his Twitter account, hoped that the Supreme Court’s verdict “brings closure for the many who lost loved ones and indeed for the country at large.” This is perhaps the first time that a Union Minister has written to the President after the verdict seeking death for Ajmal Kasab.
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The Congress, which represents five out of the six Lok Sabha seats in Mumbai — one is held by its coalition partner the Nationalist Congress Party — is under attack from its political rivals, particularly the Shiv Sena and Raj Thackarey’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, for not demanding the immediate hanging of Kasab.