NEW DELHI, Sept 23: India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, sensing mid-term polls next year, has said it would hang condemned Kashmiri Afzal Guru first thing if it comes back to power.

“The first thing we will do when voted to power is to hang Afzal,” BJP President Rajnath Singh announced in Bhopal on Saturday. “We won’t waste any time,” he told a large gathering on the sidelines of the BJP’s National Executive meeting which ended on Sunday.

“From the lower court to the apex court, Afzal (convicted in the Dec 13, 2001 Parliament attack) has been handed down the death sentence. Is the government afraid that by hanging him it will lose Muslim votes? Does the central government think every Muslim is a terrorist?” Mr Singh said.

He added that if Sachar Committee’s recommendations — on minority welfare — are implemented, they could lead the country to another Partition. Referring to the religion-based quota favoured by some Congress-ruled states, he asked: “Does the Congress also want to extend reservation benefit to Dawood Ibrahim’s son?”