Amid the recent violent incidents in the Gurgaon-Manesar industrial belt, BJP today hit out at the Congress for touting Haryana as a model of development and demanded an explanation from it. 

James Holmes, the 24-year-old alleged to have gunned down 12 people in a US cinema screening the new Batman movie, made his first appearance in a Colorado court today. 

Charging the UPA government with showing undue haste in pushing for FDI in multi-brand retail, BJP today made it clear it would not support the move till the concerns of small farmers and retailers were addressed. 

Arrested LeT operative Sayed Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal has told interrogators that he had been briefed about the 26/11 terror strike four months in advance by the bosses of terror outfits in Pakistan where he went into hiding in 2006 and undergone terror training. 

Pakistan today formed a special investigation team to probe a British newspaper's report about a visa scam that could allow potential terrorists to sneak into Britain with Pakistan's Olympic team. 

Home Minister P Chidambaram has asked Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to ensure foolproof security of 26/11 terror attack accused Abu Jundal,  who is now under the custody of the state police. 

President Pratibha Patil will host a dinner for President-elect Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, along with his Cabinet colleagues, in Delhi on Monday. 

Since most TV channels rudely moved on to other news in the middle of Pratibha Patil's address to Parliament, here's what she said. For those of you dying to know...

President Pratibha Patil today cautioned MPs not to voice their dissensions in Parliament at the cost of serious debate and legislations and maintained that they should keep abreast of new developments in technology and information explosion while making laws.

In her farewell speech to Parliamentarians here, Patil pointed out that varied political thinking is a part of any legislature and more in a country as large and diverse as India. Though this adds to the "vibrancy" of our democratic institutions, it also poses a challenge as a multiplicity of expectations are to be met.

"Naturally, there will be arguments in the process of the search for answers, but it should never happen that in the din we loose our way forward. At the end of the day, the worth, value and respect of a legislature, is judged by its output in terms of serious debate and legislations," she said.

Patil's tenure had seen the washout of the whole winter session of Parliament in 2010 when BJP-led NDA insisted on formation of a Joint Parliamentary Committee to probe the 2G Spectrum scam. Disruptions and walkouts have become more frequent in recent months.  

@TheUnRealTimesPratibha Patil on her way out of Rashtrapati Bhavan: "My only regret is that I couldn't go to the moon during my term

@gkhamba Pratibha Patil looked like the kind of aunty who would never return your cricket ball if you knocked it inside her house

@Joydas: Pranab Mukherjee is assured in the Knowledge that no matter what he does, he will be considered better than Pratibha Patil

Opposition JDS today slammed losing Presidential candidate P A Sangma for planning to move court on the election, saying its process is "exceptionally partisan."

JDS Floor Leader in Legislative Council M C Nanaiah said Sangma's plan to move the court against Pranab's election as President is uncalled for. "Pranab won the Presidential race by securing 70 per cent of the votes," he said. Nanaiah said Sangma should accept defeat gracefully.

The body of veteran freedom fighter Captain Lakshmi Sahgal, who died in Kanpur after a brief spell of illness, will be donated to GSVM Medical College for medical research, according to her last wishes, her daughter and noted CPI(M) leader Subhashini Ali said.

Sahgal (97), who was part of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose's Indian National Army, breathed her last at a private hospital at 11.20 am. Sehgal was admitted to the hospital on July 19 after she suffered a heart attack at her residence in Civil Lines area here. She was kept on life support system.

Remembering Dr Sahgal. Watch the video.

@babumoshoy Pratibha Patil leaves Rashtrapati Bhavan as the Indian with largest collection of fridge magnets from across the world.

@VineethJose Happy that Pratibha Patil is on her way out of Rashtrapati Bhavan! The worst president India has ever had! A shame for women.

Remember, Capt Lakshmi Sahgal could have been India's first woman president had she not been defeated in the polls by APJ Kalam. After Kalam, we got Pratibha Patil. Amen.

President Pratibha Patil will address the nation tomorrow which will be telecast over all channels of Doordarshan in Hindi followed by English from 7 pm onwards. The address will also be broadcast over all channels of All India Radio in Hindi followed by English from 7 pm onwards. (TRPs will zoom up, we are sure).

Patil, who hails from Nadgaon village of Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, is the first woman to occupy the top office having assumed charge as the 12th President on July 25, 2007.

Former Finance Minister and President-elect Pranab Mukherjee will be administered the oath of office as the country's 13th President on Wednesday.

Apparently, this is not Ms Patil's farewell speech. That's up ahead tomorrow. PM Manmohan Singh will be hosting a banquet in her honour today.

This is a Facebook page on President Patil called India's worst President. See

Also read: President Patil and other white elephants of our welfare state

@maheshmurthy Pratibha Patil to leave Delhi soon for Pune. Via Bali, Tahiti, Honolulu, Vancouver, Miami, St. Barts, Corfu & Dubai. :-)

@BDUTT Pratibha Patil looks as impassive in her farewell ceremony as she did for all of her tenure. Please no more like these in our (women) name.

@FrowningGlory Goodbye Pratibha Patil. To me you will always be the President who approved the mercy petition of a dead man. What a legend!

@meeraparikh RIP Pratibha Patil... Rest in Pune it means

As expected Meira Kumar sings her praises and gives her a citation signed by Parliamentarians and a golden plate.

Patil says she will remember her time in Parliament fondly and will always have good memories. Her speech is as bland and boring as her tenure as President. She congratulates Pranab Mukherjee as India's next president (amid applause, this time sincere).
 

It's President Pratibha Patil's last day in office today. She visits Parliament House amid fanfare with almost every MP present, in a ceremonial sendoff. Vice-president Hamid Ansari gives her a bouquet, while Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar garlands her and begins her farewell speech.

The ceremony is attended by the PM, Sonia Gandhi among others. 

Rediff.com's Vicky Nanjappa reports that the newly appointed Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar got some relief when the Lokayukta court rejected a complaint against him alleging illegal de-notification of government land.

The court while rejecting the complaint directed the complainant to take back the case and also fined him Rs 10000.

It had been alleged by a city based social activist, S M Chethan, that Shettar had denotified 178 acres of land in 2006, which caused a loss of Rs 250 crore to the state's exchequer.

It was said that Shettar without the approval of the Cabinet denotified the land which was acquired to set up a farmers' market. However the project never came up due to the denotification, Chethan had alleged

Another news brief from Assam... Fresh clashes and arson were reported from the Bodoland Territorial Administered Districts where two more bodies were recovered today taking the toll to 19 in the ethic violence.

The bodies were recovered from the banks of Gouranga river this morning, police said. People stopped the Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express at Pratapkhat between Kokrajhar and Gossaigaon alleging that their houses were damaged by miscreants when they moved to relief camps. The train subsequently resumed its journey.

There are fresh reports of houses being set ablaze in several places in Kokrajhar district.

This is the FB page created before his surrender, when there was a nationwide lookout for his arrest. In fact, Kalita is wearing the same red T-shirt and cap he had on when he molested the girl at Guwahati. See

Just in: Amar Jyoti Kalita, the ringleader of the goons who molested a woman outside a pub in Guwahati has surrendered in Varanasi. He is now in the custody of the UP police. Kalita, was the man who is believed to have led a mob of 30 people who molested a young woman on camera outside a pub in Guwahati. The police will soon flash his photo on local channels, and offer a reward for any information that leads to his arrest, reports NDTV.

Kalita has been on the run since July 9, when he was seen in a red t-shirt, trying to rip off the shirt of the victim, provoking national outrage.  The Assam chief minister said last week that Kalita had been spotted in Mumbai and that the police was tracking him.

Just in: An hour after senior NCP leader Praful Patel announced that the party would stay away from government events, news comes in that both he and party chief Sharad Pawar will be attending President Pratibha Patil's farewell banquet hosted by the PM today. 

In Pranab Mukherjee, India will have a knowledgeable and pragmatic President who is well-versed in constitutional procedures and practices, and who was, until his nomination as a candidate by the ruling coalition, an active politician and senior Union Minister.
Read the editorial on the Hindu.

And more on those lines...  Sultry singer Aiysha Saagar is Gold Coast envoy to India.

Read more on the Daily Mail  

Starlet Sherlyn Chopra has become the first Indian who will feature on the cover of international adult magazine Playboy, for which she shot a few days ago, posing entirely in the nude. The photo shoot took place at the famous Playboy mansion in Los Angeles, in the presence of founder-owner Hugh Hefner. Word around Beverly Hills is that a model has to sleep with Hefner before she gets to be on the coveted cover. Sherlyn says that was hardly the case.

Read the story and of course, see the pictures.

The NCP wants assurances from Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan that corruption cases against NCP leaders will not be opened. The Congress wants to defer the decision till September when the Cabinet reshuffle is expected to happen. The NCP in fact wants a change of relationship in Maharashtra and wants the Centre to rein in Chavan, which it is unwilling to do. 

Praful Patel reiterates that Sharad Pawar is not seeking any position for himself. Quoting defence minister AK Antony, Patel says there is no number 1 or number 2 position in the Cabinet. Political sources had said that Pawar was miffed at not getting the number 2 post in the Cabinet.

An exasperated Patel said, "Sharad Pawar is not seeking the chair next to the Prime Minister. The current standoff is not a ploy to seek anything."

Praful Patel says that Agatha Sangma will abide by the party's decision. Agatha has apparently written to Pawar offering to quit. He adds that there is a section of the Congress that takes sadistic pleasure in upsetting the relationship between the two parties.

Praful Patel says that the NCP's relationship with the UPA is intact and will remain intact till 2014. However, the NCP will not participate in any government function till a decision is reached on its stand on the UPA. This is why they will not attend the PM's farewell dinner for outgoing President Pratibha Patil today. 

The crucial NCP meet is over and ends on an indecisive note. NCP leader Praful Patel says the party will meet again tomorrow with leaders from Maharashtra. Patel says the NCP will stay with the UPA for now and reiterates (much like the press meet on Friday) that they were a responsible part of the UPA.

Update on Agatha Sangma's meeting with NCP chief Sharad Pawar.

Agatha Sangma, who had campaigned for her father P A Sangma in the Presidential polls, today offered to quit as Minister of State for Rural Development. NCP sources said that Agatha met party chief Sharad Pawar ahead of a meeting of the party leaders and expressed her readiness to quit the government.

The talk in party circles was that Agatha could be facing trouble with the NCP leadership receiving complaints against her from party units in Chhattisgarh and Odisha that she campaigned for her father.

While NCP backed UPA nominee Pranab Mukhrjee, Sangma was the BJP-backed opposition candidate for the top post.

Reports had it that the Agatha issue was likely to come up before the NCP meeting. Agatha is a member of the Lok Sabha from Tura, a seat represented by her father several times.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh talks to NCP chief Sharad Pawar. He tried to dissuade the NCP from quitting the Cabinet.  

A meeting of the NCP is currently underway at Pawar's residence in New Delhi. The party is expected to discuss its future course of action at the meet.  

Pawar, meanwhile, said he will not attend a dinner tonight hosted by the prime minister for all ministers. Pawar's RSVP conveys what the Congress is worried about -- that he is prone to pulling his party out of the union government, and will provide external support to the ruling coalition, reports NDTV.        

Vice President Hamid Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today condoled the death of freedom fighter Captain Lakshmi Sahgal, saying that the nation has lost an icon of selfless service.

Ansari described Sahgal as a noted freedom fighter and tireless campaigner for women's rights and social causes. He said he was deeply grieved by her demise. In his condolence message, the Prime Minister said, "In the passing away of Shrimati Lakshmi Sahgal the nation has lost an icon of liberal values and selfless service".

Ansari said, "Captain Lakshmi Sahgal represents the pinnacle of sacrifice and struggle for the country, and for the rights of the downtrodden and women. Her contribution in public life in politics, the trade union movement and the women's movement are remembered by one and all".

If you haven't watched Oprah Winfrey make a fool of herself on TLC, here's the acerbic synopsis of the show.  

Rajyasree Sen on Firstpost.com: Yesterday I had the dubious pleasure of watching Oprah's Next Chapter: India on TLC. The name of the programme is pretty self-explanatory. And I'd already heard of her series, Oprah's Next Chapter in the US where she "steps outside of the studio for enlightening conversations with newsmakers, celebrities, thought leaders and real-life families'. I've never been a great fan of Oprah's '" and the fact that she truly follows and believes everything that Deepak Chopra and Dr Phil say has nothing to do with it. I do think though, that she's a good interviewer, she's well-informed, an easy conversationalist and is well-travelled. But all that has changed after watching Oprah's Next Chapter: India

Read more

Rubbing salt into the wounds of the BJP, smarting from cross-voting by some of its MLAs in the Presidential poll, party strongman B S Yeddyurappa today said Pranab Mukherjee should have been elected unanimously and consensus eluded due to lack of foresight and divergent views.

His statement in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly as members congratulated Mukherjee created a flutter in the BJP, coming a day after the poll in which 14 BJP MLAs cross-voted in favour of the UPA's Presidential candidate.

"All parties should have come together and there should have been a thinking to elect him unanimously but because of lack of foresight, difference in opinion and other reasons, the election became inevitable," said Yeddyurappa, who recently virtually forced the BJP central leadership to make his nominee Jagadish Shettar the Chief Minister.

The former Karnataka Chief Minister also made a strong appeal to the BJP-led NDA's losing candidate Purno A Sangma to refrain from "misadventure" of approaching the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court today dismissed a plea for a CBI probe into the alleged disproportionate assets owned by Andhra Pradesh former Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. While acknowledging that the petitioner had the political rivalry with Naidu, presently the Leader of Opposition in the state's assembly, the apex court, however, made it clear that it was not going into the merits of her allegations.

The state high court had earlier dismissed Vijayamma's plea saying it was politically motivated as several similar petitions had been filed earlier against Naidu.

In May, in a major setback to the Centre, the Supreme Court turned down its policy of giving government subsidy to Muslims going on annual Haj pilgrimage.
"We hold that this policy (giving subsidies to Haj pilgrims) is best done away with," the apex court said, while slamming the Centre for politicising the issue of annual Haj pilgrimage.

The apex court, while directing the Centre to eliminate the policy of Haj subsidies over a period of ten years, maintained that the proposal of giving subsidy on pilgrimages to religious shrines is inappropriate and aimed at wooing minorities.

The apex court further stated that it will examine the functioning of the Haj Committee of India and its selection process for sending pilgrims for Haj.

The Supreme Court has reduced the discretionary quota for Haj pilgrims to 440 from 2500. The SC limits allocation of discretionary quota to President,
Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Haj committee of India.  No high court will entertain any petition for registration of Haj pilgrims for 2012, says SC. Details awaited.

The resignations sent in by NCP chief Sharad Pawar and senior leader Praful Patel to the PM on Friday, expressing their displeasure over the working of the UPA and the Congress's high-handed behaviour may be more serious than believed earlier.

News coming in now says the Sharad Pawar and Praful Patel are likely to skip the farewell dinner hosted by the PM today at Hyderabad House in Delhi for Pratibha Patil.

Pawar has also told Agatha Sangma, who is an Union Cabinet minister, to stop attending office. Agatha had met Pawar ahead of the NCP meet. After she campaigned for her father Purno Sangma, the opposition candidate in Presidential election, her position in the ministry had become untenable.

The NCP is however likely to attend a 5.30 pm function at Parliament House in honour of Pratibha Patil. 

Pranab Mukherjee, India's 13th President, speaking to CNN IBN says he is thankful to everyone and all parties for supporting him. He said he will be everybody's president, when asked what it means to be India's first Bengali president. He promised to look into the Afzal Guru case once he assumed office.
All through the interview, excerpts beamed just now, Pranab Mukherjee almost never stopped smiling.
A marked improvement from his dour predecessor.

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray today said that Pranab Mukherjee should begin his tenure as President by rejecting the mercy plea of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and create history.

Congratulating Mukherjee on his election as the 13th President, Thackeray said we have great expectations from Pranab Mukherjee. "First of all, reject Afzal's mercy petition and hang him. The terrorist who attacked the sovereignty of the country should not stay alive," Sena mouthpiece 'Samana' quoted Thackeray as saying. "You (Pranab) will have to perform this sacred duty," he said.

More news of terror and terrorism. From Iraq...

A spate of shootings and bombings in Baghdad and north of the capital killed at least 37 people today, security and medical officials said.

The deadliest attacks struck a military base near the town of Dhuluiyah and the town of Taji, with both attacks killing seven people each, officials said. Bombings and shootings also hit Baghdad, of which are north of the capital.

A series of car bombs targeting army and police patrols in Kirkuk and the eponymous province's towns of Tuz Khurmatu and Dibis killed at least five people and wounded 20 others.

Just in: There's been a bomb blast in Karachi in an area populated by several consulates.

The Pakistani newspaper Dawn reports that a loud explosion was heard in Karachi's Clifton area near the Chinese embassy. Police and rescue teams reached the site of blast.

The bomb was fitted on a motorbike that was parked near the Chinese consulate area. No loss of life had been reported and three motor vehicles were damaged as a result of the blast, he added.

Police cordoned off the area as investigations went underway.

The whispers in Delhi political circles is that DMK chief M Karunanidhi is upset over the absence of TR Baalu and Trichy Siva at the Joint Parliamentary Committee meeting on 2G. The meeting discussed the alleged cash routing to the DMK-run Kalaignar TV and 12 fictitious companies in the 2G scam. This was brought to his notice by his daughter Kanimozhi.

Apparently, Kanimozhi feels that if these two DMK MPs had raised
questions with the Enforcement Directorate, the damage would not
have been as severe. Kanimozhi called Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari
to thank him for questioning the ED on the JPC.

Kanimozhi is now being projected as a Lok Sabha candidate from Nagercoil parliamentary constituency. Her term in the Rajya Sabha will end on April 2013 and the buzz in DMK circles is that Kani would win this seat without any hiccup, as Nadar votes would ensure victory.

FYI: Her stepbrother Union Minister M K Alagiri is leading an official delegation to Japan for four days.

We pay tribute to Capt Lakshmi Sahgal. Read these stories from our archives...

The woman who broke the rules.

The people in charge of this country are an ambitious, self-serving bunch of tired old men

'I am fighting for a cause'

The Certification of Election (CoE) of Pranab Mukherjee as the President of India has been handed over to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today. The CoE is a formality, a documentation that the election process has ended with Pranab Mukherjee officially India's 13th president.

Chief Election Commissioner V S Sampath and Election Commissioner H S Brahmaas, signed the letter at the Nirvachan Sadan. A copy of this letter has also been delivered to the Union Home Secretary R K Singh.

Two principal secretaries of the Election Commission have personally taken this certification to the Prime Minster's Office in South Block -- a customary drill by the Election Commission.

Yesterday, senior officials of  the Election Commission were in attendance for exigences if any, when the counting for 13th presidential elections was underway. UPA nominee Pranab Mukherjee emerged winner. 

Moving on, our Delhi sources say that the NCP core committee meeting is at 3pm. Praful Patel will brief the media about the deliberations.

At 24 Akbar Road, the headquarters of the AICC, media managers are circulating details about the severe drought across many states. They have been  indirectly blaming the poor monsoon on the forecast of the metreological department and the attitude of the Union Ministry of Agriculture. 

n 1998, Sahgal was awarded the Padma Vibhushan by former president KR Narayanan.

In 2002, four leftist parties -- the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Revolutionary Socialist Party, and the All India Forward Bloc -- nominated Sahgal as a candidate in the presidential elections. She was the sole opponent of A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who emerged victorious. 

Sahgal was an officer of the Indian National Army, and the Minister of Women's Affairs in the Azad Hind government. Sahgal is commonly referred to as Captain Lakshmi, a reference to her rank when taken prisoner in Burma, now Myanmar, says Wikipedia.
Sahgal joined the new regiment, called the Rani of Jhansi Regiment, and was given the rank of colonel. This women's army unit was the first of its kind in Asia. The army fought on the side of the Axis powers against the British.

Just in: Captain Lakshmi Sahgal passes away.

The 97-year-old revolutionary was put on ventilator on Friday and the doctors attending on her stated her condition to be stable on Saturday. "Her condition is stable but she is not out of danger and has been still kept on the life support system in the intensive care unit (ICU) under close observation," cardiologist Dr Santosh Kumar said. She is still in a state of coma, he added.

Sahgal was an active member of the Indian national movement and a captain in Subhash Chandra Bose's Indian National Army.

Her body will be donated to a medical college.

The NCP is set to hold a crucial high-level meeting sometime today. The meet today is to decide the future course of action on continuing its alliance with the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA). On Saturday, the NCP had said it was unhappy with some aspects of functioning of the UPA. Read more

NCP chief Sharad Pawar and senior leaders including Praful Patel head to Pranab Mukherjee's residence to meet him. If you haven't a clue, Mukherjee was elected the 13th President of India yesterday defeating PA Sangma.

On Tehelka: Manufactured Shame: The telecast of a young girl's molestation in the heart of Guwahati by a local news channel has jolted the nation's consciousness. Ratnadip Choudhury exposes the sordid truth behind the horrific act. Read

The Assam police on Friday arrested journalist Gaurav Jyoti Neog in connection with the molestation of a girl on the streets of Guwahati on July 9.Neog was arrested by the policemen from Bhangagarh police station, where the case had been registered.

He had already resigned from the TV channel after it was alleged that he had instigated a mob comprising nearly 30 men to molest the girl, so that he could capture it on video and later telecast it on his channel. Neog was booked under Sections 294, 509, 34 of the Indian Penal Code.On Thursday, the Guwahati high court had rejected the TV reporter's petition for anticipatory bail.

The public assault was filmed by another reporter form the channel that Neog worked for at the time.  News Live says when its reporters realised the could not fight the mob to rescue the girl, they decided that filing the incident would help provide evidence that would nail the accused, reports NDTV.

Kalita refers to himself as James Bond in his Facebook profile; his photo there shows him wearing the same red shirt.

The main accused in the Guwahati molestation case, Amarjyoti Kalita, was traced to Kolkata. Kalita was traced three days ago on CCTV camera.

Kalita, was the man who is believed to have led a mob of 30 people who molested a young woman on camera outside a pub in Guwahati. The police will soon flash his photo on local channels, and offer a reward for any information that leads to his arrest, reports NDTV.

Kalita has been on the run since July 9, when he was seen in a red t-shirt, trying to rip off the shirt of the victim, provoking national outrage.  The Assam chief minister said last week that Kalita had been spotted in Mumbai and that the police was tracking him. 

Gaurav Jyoti Neog, a reporter from the channel that filmed the molestation in Guwahati, was arrested last week.  He is a close friend of Kalita's, according to the police. They also say he incited the mob to attack the victim.

Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar has promised action against MLAs who cross-voted in the presidential polls. A panel will be formed and action will be taken, said Shettar.  

Fourteen disgruntled Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs from Karnataka voted for Pranab Mukherjee, said sources.  

Massive cross-voting in Karnataka helped Mukherjee get 53 per cent of the vote from that state. He polled 117 votes, against P A Sangma's 103. Sangma, the BJP's candidate, should have got 116 votes, taking into account that allegedly three BJP votes were found invalid.    

Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Sunday telephoned Pranab Mukherjee, who was elected as India's 13th President, to congratulate him and assured him she would attend his swearing-in July 25, reports NDTV.

"Yes, Mamatadi had called up Pranabbabu after it became clear that he had won the presidential election. Pranabbabu thanked her and requested her to be present during the swearing in ceremony. Mamatadi has assured him she will be present during the ceremony," said party MP Kunal Ghosh.

United States President Barack Obama has told victims of the attack at a Batman film screening in Aurora, Colorado, that the whole country is thinking of them.

Obama met survivors and families of the dead when he visited the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora, reports CNN.

He said he shared hugs and tears and vowed that "out of darkness a brighter day is going to come".

James Holmes, 24, has been arrested in connection with the attack, which killed 12 and injured 58.

Holmes is alleged to have opened fire during a packed midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises before being detained outside the cinema.

The Shiv Sena, which offered unsolicited support to Pranab Mukherjee's candidacy, has urged him to reject the mercy petition of Afzal Guru, sentenced to death for the terror attack on Parliament in December 2001. Twelve people were killed in the attack.  

Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray wrote in the his party's mouthpiece, the Saamna, "We have many expectations from you. We urge you to reject Afzal Guru's mercy plea and hang him. Pranab da you should do this on priority basis and should kick-start your career as President of India. It is an august conduct that we expect from you."  

The Shiv Sena had broken ranks with the National Democratic Alliance to back Pranab for the President's post.