BJP angry over EU’s intervention in Afzal’s issue

LUCKNOW: Taking strong exception to the European Parliament Speaker and some of its members urging President A P J Abdul Kalam to grant clemency to Parliament attack convict Mohammed Afzal Guru, the BJP today said this amounted to “interference” in India’s internal matters.

“The EU should keep off the matter. It’s our internal matter. We strongly condemn it,” senior BJP leader and former External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha told reporters here.

“The EU is an expert in this thing. Some of its members try to show them on a high moral ground,” he said.

He alleged that some EU members and its Parliament’s Speaker had urged Kalam during the latter’s visit to grant clemency to Guru.

Sinha said that his party had been urging the President to dispose of the matter without any delay as it would invite interference.

The BJP leader also demanded a thorough and independent investigaion into the alleged involvement of Quattrocchi in former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s killing.

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