Centre stays hanging of Balwant Singh Rajoana after Badal meets President

New Delhi/Chandigarh:  The Centre has stayed the hanging of Babbar Khalsa terrorist Balwant Singh Rajoana, who was sentenced to death for the assassination of then Punjab chief minister Beant Singh in 1995. The decision follows a mercy petition filed by Sikh body, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), that has been actively backed by the Punjab government and other political parties in the state.

A court in Chandigarh had ruled on Tuesday that Rajoana should be hanged as scheduled on March 31. The court was hearing a plea from the Patiala Jail Superintendent.

"Taking into consideration our appeal, the President had referred the matter to the Home Ministry, which has stayed the execution of Balwant Singh till the matter is clear in the Supreme Court or mercy plea is considered by the President," Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said after meeting with President Pratibha Patil today. Mr Badal, alongwith his son and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, also handed over a mercy petition on behalf of the state government seeking clemency for Rajoana. The President's office later forwarded his petition to the Union Home Ministry, which will decide on the matter in due course of time. As per law, the petition would then be sent to the Law Minsitry and the Punjab government for comments after which, it would be forwarded to the President with recommendations of the Home Ministry. The President's office already has 18 mercy petitions pending with it.

Mr Badal has been under immense pressure in the last few days with radical Sikh groups demanding clemency for Rajoana. Sukhbir Singh Badal, who is also the President of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), had said today, "We are not politicising the issue. We want clemency for Rajoana. We are meeting the President. We have also sought time from the Prime Minister." Mr Badal stressed that not just the Akalis but the Congress, and other political parties in Punjab, were also supporting the SGPC's demand.

The matter of two other terrorists, Jagtar Singh Hawara and Lakhwinder Singh, convicted in the same case, is pending before the Supreme Court. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has approached the Supreme Court in Hawara's case as his death sentence, awarded by the CBI special court in 2007, was commuted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2010 to life imprisonment. The appeal of Lakhwinder Singh against his conviction is also pending.

However, the High Court had upheld Rajoana's death sentence in the case as he had refused to defend himself. Kamaljeet Kaur, Mr Rajoana's sister, who met him in jail earlier today reiterated that he is not interested in asking for mercy.

Meanwhile, a bandh in the state today, called by radical Sikh groups to protest against the scheduled hanging, threw normal life out of gear - forcing schools and shops to shut down. Saffron-coloured flags could be seen flying on buildings, houses and shops. In Patiala, Shiv Sainiks clashed with protesters, and National Highway 1 was blocked. Trains between Ferozepur and Jalandhar were also blocked with protesters sitting on the rail track near Ferozepur station.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP), Law and Order, S.K. Sharma told IANS there were no major incidents of violence during the shutdown.

Authorities in Punjab had beefed up security arrangements across the state in view of the latest orders of the court directing that Rajoana be hanged. Nearly 60,000 Punjab police personnel and 15 companies of para-military forces had been put on alert. The security forces had taken out flag marches in some cities and towns since Monday. Security has also been tightened around the jail to handle any untoward incident. Prohibitory orders are in place across Chandigarh to stop assembly of groups.

A former Punjab Police constable, Mr Rajoana has refused to defend himself in the Beant Singh assassination case saying that he was involved. Beant Singh, Punjab chief minister between 1992 and 1995 and largely credited with wiping out terrorism from the state, was assassinated by a human bomb, Dilawar Singh, at the high security Punjab civil secretariat in Chandigarh on August 31, 1995.

While Hawara was the mastermind of the assassination, Rajoana was the second human bomb to be used in case the first assassin failed. Rajoana, during the entire 11-year trial, had admitted that he alone was responsible for the killing of Beant Singh. The family members of Beant Singh have also stated that they had forgiven Rajoana and that his death sentence be converted to life imprisonment.

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Where are the numbers, Mr Prime Minister, asks Sushma after vote on anti-terror centre

New Delhi:  The government won a vote today on its proposed National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), but that victory, according to the BJP, exposes that the government is in a minority. The opposition has also highlighted that ministers of the Trinamool Congress, headed by Mamata Banerjee, walked out of the House before the vote.  

After the vote, the BJP's Sushma Swaraj tweeted, "There were 227 votes in favour of the Government. It is 45 less than the majority. The Government's majority claim has been exposed." She added, "They have been saying - 'We have the number, we have the number'. Mr Prime Minister Where is the number?" Referring to the fact that the Trinamool did not vote in favour of the government, she said, "It is for the first time that even Ministers of alliance partner (TMC) walked out of the House. It is huge embarrassment for the Government."

The BJP and the Left had pushed for votes against the government for violating the federal structure of the country via the NCTC. A simple majority is 272 in the Lok Sabha which has 543 seats. The government came in under that mark, but members of the Trinamool Congress and Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) walked out during the vote, reducing by 40 the number of MPs present and voting. Mulayam Singh Yadav, who today denied reports that he will formally join the ruling coalition, also lent assistance by voting along with the government. But 60 MPs from the UPA - including 12 from the Congress, which leads the ruling coalition - were absent during the vote. The Congress had issued a whip to its MPs, ordering them to be present. Those who were missing are likely to be served a showcause notice with the party demanding an explanation.

Ms Banerjee, who is both Trinamool chief and West Bengal chief minister, has led a contingent of 10 chief ministers who objected to the NCTC. By walking out during the vote, her MPs were not forced to vote against the government alongside the BJP and the Left. At the same time, they avoided voting in favour of a policy that they have criticised fiercely. Sources in the Trinamool Congress say that this was part of a strategy worked out with the Congress this morning. But the BJP was quick to point out that Trinamool ministers like Mukul Roy and Sudip Bandyopadhyay were among those who left the House.    

The vote on the contentious NCTC today was held in the form of amendments moved by the Left and the BJP to the Motion of Thanks given by the Prime Minister this morning for the President's address. Last week, President Pratibha Patil inaugurated the Budget session of Parliament with her speech in which she outlined the agenda of the government. The NCTC was mentioned. The opposition wanted that reference to be deleted. The Prime Minister in his Motion of Thanks said that consultations with state governments will continue about the plans and powers for the NCTC.

He also reiterated that the Home Minister will meet with all chief ministers on April 16 to discuss their concerns. The NCTC has the right to arrive in any state, conduct searches for suspects, and make arrests. State governments say this impedes upon their right to handle law and order, and that the state police force must play a larger role in the NCTC's operations.

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Mamata vs the centre: Amendments rejected for technical reasons

New Delhi:  For once, it's not the Congress that's feeling Mamata Banerjee's wrath. The Trinamool Party chief directed her ire at the Railways Minister, who is her own nominee to the union cabinet.  Ms Banerjee has rejected the nominal increase in passenger fares announced by Dinesh Trivedi.  Sources say he has been asked to either withdraw the hike, or resign. The diktat is humiliating for her minister, and embarrassing for the government.

The respite of indirect fire for Congress is sweetened by the fact that Ms Banerjee's party has tripped over its own attempts to challenge the union government on another front -the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC).  Her MPs yesterday moved amendments to the President's address - the speech delivered by the President to Parliament that outlines the government's agenda.

Those amendments have been rejected for technical reasons- they were not worded correctly.  Ms Banerjee's MPs had asked for the reference to the National Counter Terrorism Centre to be deleted from the President's speech.  The opposition BJP had moved a similar amendment; if it pushed for a vote, Ms Banerjee's MPs would have been obliged to vote alongside the opposition and against the government that they are a part of.

The gaffe brings huge respite to the Congress whose relationship with Ms Banerjee has been in the danger zone for a while now.  At a dinner hosted by the Prime Minister last night, Ms Banerjee was missing - she chose to fly to Nagpur instead to attend a wedding.  The fact that she deputed a first-time MP, Ratna De Nag, and not one of her senior ministers or leaders was seen as a flat snub to the Congress.

Pointedly, Ms Banerjee deputed two of her union ministers to attend the swearing-in today of the Punjab government, a partnership between the Akalis and the BJP.  For the UPA's political rival, Ms Banerjee sent a senior delegation.  The Prime Minister's dinner, in comparison, received minimal attention.

At the dinner last night, senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee made it clear that Ms Banerjee's amendments could cost the government heavily- if a vote was held, he warned, the government could lose.

Ms Banerjee's 19 Lok Sabha MPs give her the power to call the shots with the Congress -without her support, the UPA would collapse - and she has held the government and its policies to hostage with increasing daring.  She recently forced the UPA to suspend its reforms in retail - the increased Foreign Direct Investment in shops or chains that stock different brands was a move by the Prime Minister and his team to prove wrong allegations of policy paralysis.

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Centre puts off meet on NCTC to March 12

New Delhi:  The Home Ministry has postponed a meeting of top police and civil officials of all states scheduled for March 9 to end the logjam on NCTC and it will now be held on March 12.

The meeting of the Chief Secretaries, Directors General of Police, state Home Secretaries and Chiefs of state Anti-Terror Squads was convened by the Union Home Secretary to discuss in detail the scope and functions of the NCTC.

Home Ministry officials said the decision to reschedule the conference to March 12 has been taken following requests from several states that due to Holi festival and a long week-end, many of the officials would not be able to attend the meeting.

Some of them also conveyed their inability to attend the crucial meeting on March 9 citing the short notice given to them and pre-scheduled engagements.

In the wake of strong protests by non-Congress Chief Ministers, the Centre has put on hold the operationalization of the National Counter Terrorism Centre from March 1 and decided to discuss with the state governments before going ahead with the plan.

In his letter to 10 Chief Ministers, Home Minister P Chidambaram had assured that the "next steps" on NCTC will be taken only after the meeting of the top officials of the states.

The Home Ministry officials are expected to allay the apprehensions of the states which said empowering NCTC with Section 43 (A) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act would infringe on the state's powers. Section 43(A) of UA (P) A gives an officer power to arrest and search.

Chidambaram had said the powers conferred under Section 43(A) of the UA (P) Act must be read with the duty under Section 43 (B) to produce the person or article without unnecessary delay before the nearest police station (which will be under the state government), and the SHO of the police station will take further action in accordance with the provisions of the CrPC.

"I am confident that this meeting will find a way forward. My note (sent to the Chief Ministers) is self explanatory. I think the note should, I believe, have allayed many of the apprehensions including apprehensions of a section of the media and therefore let us hope that the meeting convened by the HS will find a way forward," he had said.

However, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, who spearheaded protests by over a dozen Chief Ministers on the issue of setting up of NCTC on the ground that it would erode states' powers, in his third letter on NCTC to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opposed the government calling the meeting of top state officials.

"It is imperative that instead of a meeting chaired by the Union Home Secretary, an immediate meeting of Chief Ministers may be called by you to address the concerns of the states on this very urgent matter regarding the security of the nation," he told the Prime Minister

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