Srinagar, Aug. 31 (PTI): Omar Abdullah today tweeted that if the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly passed a resolution seeking mercy for terror convict Afzal Guru on the lines of Tamil Nadu, the reaction would not be “as muted”, triggering a sharp attack from the BJP.

“If J&K assembly had passed a resolution similar to the Tamil Nadu one for Afzal Guru would the reaction have been as muted? I think not,” the state’s chief minister said.

His comments came a day after the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a unanimous resolution urging President Pratibha Patil to reconsider the mercy petitions of three of Rajiv Gandhi’s killers who are facing the death sentence.

“Omar’s remarks are unfortunate. Had the Hurriyat leaders made such a comment, it would have been understandable. A responsible chief minister should not have made such comments,” BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said in Delhi.

Hussain’s party colleague Balbir Punj described Omar’s remarks as “shocking, irresponsible and unfortunate”.

The Congress chose not to get involved.

“What the chief minister comments on Twitter is his business. It’s really not for us to take cognisance of it. These are sensitive issues which each state government sees and perceives on its own (way). We can only wait and watch,” Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhary said.

“In a democracy, it’s perfectly okay for people to voice their opinions collectively or individually. I don’t think we should speculate,” she added.

“The Congress party does not feel the need to comment on old issues, on issues like death sentence, execution of death sentence which, as we have repeatedly said, involve a constitutional process, a legal statutory process and then an administrative process,” said Congress MP Abhishek Singhvi.

“That process has gone on and is going on. There is no question of us commenting and there is also no question of us commenting upon the comments of another on that issue,” he said.

The Omar government apprehends trouble if Guru is hanged. The home ministry has sent the file on Guru’s mercy petition to the President.

The September 9 hanging of Rajiv Gandhi killers Murugan, Santhan and Perarivalan, lodged in Vellore Jail, was stayed for eight weeks by Madras High Court yesterday.