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The Congress on Friday critisized Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nitin Gadkari for taunting it over the delay in hanging Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. "It is very obvious that Gadkari has lost his mind completely. The BJP should take pity on him and deposit him into a psychiatric facility. The man needs serious help," said Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari. "The remark smacks of obscenity, obnoxiousness and obtuseness," he added. "This is a very disgraceful statement. This has once again proved that Gadkari is not mature enough to be the president of a national party," said party spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed. On Thursday, Gadkari had asked the center to stop treating Afzal Guru as the son-in-law of the Congress party. Gadkari said: "I want to ask the Congress leaders if Afzal Guru is their son-in-law. It is a party full of fearful people. They can never fight with terrorists and can never get rid of terrorism. It is a party which will bow down in front of terrorists and can never protect India." Afzal was awarded the death sentence by a Delhi court on December 18, 2002 after being convicted of conspiracy to attack Parliament on December 13, 2001, waging war against the country and committing murder. Delhi High Court upheld the death sentence on October 29, 2003 and his appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court two years later on August four, 2005. Following this, Afzal filed a mercy petition with the President, who forwarded it to Union Home Ministry for its comments. The 2001 Parliament attack, led to the death of a dozen people; five terrorists, six policemen and a civilian.

Congress slams Gadkari over Afzal Guru 'son-in-law' remarks