Neither I nor Azad was consulted before hanging Guru: Farooq

National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah has said neither he nor Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad were consulted by government on the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah has said neither he nor Union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad were consulted by government on the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

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In an interview to local newspaper 'Rising Kashmir' on Sunday, Farooq said, "I came to know about Afzal Guru in the morning. Not only me, even Azad didn't know."

Farooq held the charge of new and renewable energy resources in Manmohan Singh Cabinet.

Confirming the statement, Farooq told Hindustan Times that the two ministers got to know about the news from television.

"We got to know after the hanging had happened. Both Azad sahib and I were in complete dark," he added.

According to him, both the ministers "protested" when they got the news.

"We asked the PM how is it that you hang a man, and we being ministers in your government are not informed," he said, adding, "We could do nothing".

"He has proved his credentials by joining the BJP," he said. "It was he who hanged the two Muslims. There is no doubt that Guru was hanged because he was a Muslim, otherwise how is it that the other people have been pardoned or given life imprisonment while he has been hanged that too out of turn," he told HT.

On whether the state government was weak in comparison to states like Tamil Nadu or even Punjab, he said, "What do we have? Three members in the Parliament, compared to (their) 40. What difference are you talking about? We are victims and despite our victimhood, we still try to save the state."