Will terrorist in Punjab be executed on Friday? Clemency appeals pile up

Chandigarh:  The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has filed a clemency petition with President Pratibha Patil for Sikh terrorist Balwant Singh Rajoana, who is facing death for former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh's assassination, sources said.

Sources in the SGPC, the mini-Parliament of Sikh religious affairs, said on Monday the plea was filed through Punjab Governor Shivraj Patil.

Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal had said on Sunday evening that it was willing "to go to any extent" to save Rajoana and asked the state government and the SGPC "to take all possible legal and other steps" to secure clemency for him.

A court in Chandigarh has issued the death warrant for March 31 and asked the authorities in Patiala jail in Punjab, 80 km from here, to execute Rajoana. A Babbar Khalsa International terrorist, he has refused to defend himself in any court saying that he "be hanged to death for the cause of Khalistan" (a separate Sikh homeland).

SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar and other senior Akali Dal leaders are expected to seek an appointment with President Patil in New Delhi this week to seek clemency for Rajoana.

At an emergency meeting here of the party's core committee Sunday evening, chaired by party president and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, members expressed satisfaction with the decision of the state government not to implement the March 31 warrants of execution issued by a court in Chandigarh recently.

The core committee had asked the SGPC to immediately file a clemency appeal for Rajoana before the president.

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who was present at the meeting, disclosed that he would make a special statement on the subject in the assembly on Monday.

The Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of the Sikh religion, had last week asked the Punjab government and the SGPC to initiate steps to save Rajoana from the gallows.

Rajoana was awarded the death sentence by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court here July 2007 along with another terrorist, Jagtar Singh Hawara, in the Beant Singh assassination case.

The former chief minister (1992-95), who was largely credited with wiping out terrorism from Punjab, was assassinated by a human bomb, Dilawar Singh, at the high security Punjab civil secretariat here Aug 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 Punjab and Haryana High Court had October 2010 upheld the death sentence for Rajoana but changed the capital punishment given to Hawara to life imprisonment. Rajoana had refused to challenge the death sentence awarded to him.

An Akali Dal spokesman said: "The core committee fully endorsed the steps taken by the Punjab government in this regard so far. The core committee took note of the fact that the warrants of execution against Bhai Rajoana had been returned since it was legally not possible to execute them."

He said the Akali Dal endorsed the efforts being taken by the government to secure clemency for Rajoana.

"The party is prepared to go to any extent to secure clemency for Bhai Rajoana so that the hard earned atmosphere of peace and communal harmony in the state is not disturbed," he added.

The core committee appealed to all political parties, organisations, institutions and citizens of the country to extend support for the cause of clemency for Rajoana.

The family members of Beant Singh have also stated that they had forgiven Rajoana and that his death sentence be converted to life imprisonment.

Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Sunday endorsed the stand taken by the family of Beant Singh that the death sentence of Rajoana be commuted to life.

He also assured all support and cooperation to the Punjab government, whether legal or by way of making an appeal to the President for clemency to Rajoana, in this regard.

However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is the alliance partner of the Akali Dal in the Punjab government, avoided the clemency issue of Rajoana.

"The BJP stand on terrorism has not changed. This (Rajoana) matter is sub judice. We will not comment on it," Punjab BJP president Ashwini Sharma told the media here.

For NDTV Updates, follow us on Twitter or join us on Facebook

View the original article here

Punjab govt won't execute Beant Singh's assassin on Saturday: Top 10 developments

Chandigarh:  The Punjab government has said it will not execute Balwant Singh Rajoana on Saturday. Mr Rajoana was sentenced to death in 2007 by a special CBI court in Chandigarh for his role in the assassination of former Punjab chief minister, Beant Singh, who was from the Congress. Mr Singh had been killed in 1995. Here are 10 big developments in this story:

1) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said in the Assembly that Mr Rajoana cannot be executed on Saturday. His announcement comes on a day when the Shiromani Gurdwara Pharbandhak Comimttee or SGPC, which functions as a parliament of Sikhs, has sent a mercy petition to President Pratibha Patil. It allegedly cites 11 other similar cases where the death sentence was commuted.

2) The Sikh clergy has said the state government must fight to save Mr Rajoana. The Akal Takht, which is the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, has conferred the title of zinda shaheed or living martyr conferred on him by Sikh high priests. Mr Rajoana has said he does not want this title.

3) A court in Chandigarh has asked authorities at the Patila Jail, 80 kms away, to execute Mr Rajoana on Saturday.

4) Mr Rajoana, who has been convicted for being a Babbar Khalsa terrorist, has refused to defend himself in any court saying he wants to die for "the cause of Khalistan" (a separate Sikh homeland).

5) Mr Rajoana was awarded the death sentence for the assassination of Beant Singh in 2007 by a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) special court. Another terrorist, Jagtar Singh Hawara, was also given the death sentence. Mr Hawara has been described as the mastermind of the murder.

6) Beant Singh who was the chief minister of Punjab from 1992 to 1995 was largely credited with wiping out terrorism from Punjab. He was assassinated by a human bomb, Dilawar Singh, at the high security Punjab civil secretariat in Chandigarh in August 1995. Mr Rajoana was to serve as a back-up human bomb.

7)  The assassinated chief minister's family has also stated that it has forgiven Mr Rajoana and would like his death sentence be converted to life imprisonment.

8) The Punjab government has already sought para-military forces from the Centre as a precautionary measure, officials said.

9) Yesterday, the BJP, sharing power with SAD in the state, steered clear of the controversy saying the matter was sub judice. "It is for the courts to decide and nobody has a right to interfere," Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma had said.

10) On Saturday, the Patiala Jail said the execution is not possible. "After looking into the all legal aspects of the case minutely, the Jail Superintendent of the Central Jail Patiala is of the view that since this case has many legal and constitutional shortcomings, loopholes and flaws, the execution of the court order is impossible within the ambit of law," Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal told the Punjab Assembly today.

For NDTV Updates, follow us on Twitter or join us on Facebook

View the original article here

Mamata Banerjee to attend swearing-in ceremonies of Punjab and UP chief ministers

Kolkata:  In what might be seen as a snub to the Congress, West Bengal Chief Minister and the UPA's most troublesome ally at the Centre, Mamata Banerjee, will attend the swearing-in ceremonies of the chief ministers of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. Reports earlier on Saturday suggested that Mamata would decline the invitation from Akali Dal to attend Parkash Singh Badal's swearing in on March 14.
"Just learnt that Mamatadi will be going to both Lucknow & Chandigarh for the CM swearing in ceremonies (sic)," tweeted Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson Derek O'Brien on Saturday night.
In Punjab, the Akalis have been voted back to power with their partner, the BJP.  The Congress had counted on winning the state. Ms Banerjee's presence at the ceremony next week will be seen as an indication of her increasingly warm relations with Congress rivals like Naveen Patnaik of Odisha. Ms Banerjee has been a loud voice in a campaign by Chief Ministers who say the Centre is a serial offender of the principles of federalism.
Before Mamata's u-turn on her decision to skip the Akali Dal's invitation, earlier on Saturday, in no small measure of relief for the Congress, she said "she is not a traitor" and has no plans to create the need for mid-term elections. Ms Banerjee's recent decisions have led to unhappy confrontations with the UPA, of which she is an indispensable member.
Meanwhile, Mr Badal's son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, has explained that his invite to Ms Banerjee has "nothing to do with wooing." "We have invited Chief Ministers from several states because of personal relations Mr Parkash Singh Badal shares with them," he added.
While Congress leader Rashid Alvi declined to comment on the invite extended to Ms Banerjee, Congress General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed, who met Ms Banerjee on Saturday, sought to play down the matter, "Invitation extended to Mamata Banerjee for the swearing-in ceremony should not be seen as a political gesture," he said.
The BJP's Sushma Swaraj said after the recent state elections in Punjab and UP that mid-term polls are likely. Dinesh Trivedi, cabinet minister from Ms Banerjee's party, said this week that he believes his party may prefer mid-term polls to capitalize on the voter preference that gave Ms Banerjee a stunning verdict two years ago. He later said that was his personal view and Ms Banerjee has said in Kolkata that all MPs from her party have been alerted not to share private opinions.
The elections in Punjab and UP have demonstrated the political might of regional parties who their states identify with. Both national parties- the BJP and the Congress-were marginalised. In Punjab, the BJP won fewer seats than it had in the last state elections. It was saved by the strong numbers if its collaborator, the Akalis, with who it now returns to power.
For NDTV Updates, follow us on Twitter or join us on Facebook
View the original article here

Mamata 'keen to attend' swearing-in ceremonies in UP and Punjab, but won't due to budget session in Bengal

Kolkata/New Delhi:  Trinamool Congress chief and the UPA's most troublesome ally at the Centre Mamata Banerjee is reportedly "keen to attend" the swearing-in ceremonies of the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh, but might now have to miss it for she has to attend the budget session at West Bengal assembly.
The message has been conveyed through a comment posted on Twitter by her party spokesperson Derek O'Brien that reads - "Just spoke to Mamatadi. Was keen to make trip to Ch'garh/L'now but now she'll be in #bengal on opening day of Assembly for Guv."
Sources say the Bengal Governor has asked Chief Minister Mamata to stay back for budget session. But Didi it seems has managed to send across the message to the Congress. 
It was another tweet by Derek O'Brien yesterday that had indicated that Ms Banerjee would attend the swearing-in ceremonies of Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal and Samjawadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav.
Since both parties are staunch opponents of the Congress, Mamata's "keenness" to attend the functions is being seen by many as yet another snub to the party. Over the past several months, Ms Banerjee has often confronted the Centre over key policy decisions like FDI in multi-brand retail.  She has also been a loud voice in a campaign by Chief Ministers who say the Centre is a serial offender of the principles of federalism.
The Congress however has so far tried to downplay the invites extended to the Trinamool chief. "Inviting someone for a function does not necessarily have some political motivation. In human relations, people invite people for a party and it should not all the time considered exclusively political," explained Congress General Secretary Shakeel Ahmed, who reportedly met Ms Banerjee yesterday after reports said that she would attend the ceremonies in Punjab and UP. Interestingly, these reports came on a day when in no small measure of relief for the Congress, Ms Banerjee said that "she is not a traitor" and has no plans to create the need for mid-term elections.
In Punjab, the Akalis have been voted back to power with their partner, the BJP.  The Congress had counted on winning the state. Ms Banerjee's desire to be present at the ceremony there will be seen as an indication of her increasingly warm relations with Congress rivals.
Mr Badal's son, Sukhbir Singh Badal, has explained that his invite to Ms Banerjee has "nothing to do with wooing." "We have invited Chief Ministers from several states because of personal relations Mr Parkash Singh Badal shares with them," he said.
After the recent state elections in Punjab and UP, BJP's Sushma Swaraj said that mid-term polls are likely. Dinesh Trivedi, cabinet minister from Ms Banerjee's party, said this week that he believes his party may prefer mid-term polls to capitalize on the voter preference that gave Ms Banerjee a stunning verdict two years ago. He later said that was his personal view and Ms Banerjee has said in Kolkata that all MPs from her party have been alerted not to share private opinions.
The elections in Punjab and UP have demonstrated the political might of regional parties who their states identify with. Both national parties- the BJP and the Congress-were marginalised. In Punjab, the BJP won fewer seats than it had in the last state elections. It was saved by the strong numbers if its collaborator, the Akalis, with who it now returns to power.

For NDTV Updates, follow us on Twitter or join us on Facebook
View the original article here