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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Mayawati meets partymen to take stock of poll debacle

Lucknow:  After her party's dismal performance in Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati is in introspection mode. The former Chief Minister has called a three-day meeting of her party leaders to take stock of the poll debacle. The BSP managed to win merely 80 seats this year, as against the 203 it won in last elections held in 2007. Today is the second day of the meeting.
In the series of meetings called at the party headquarters in the state capital, Mayawati will dissect her party's poor show, brainstorm with party leaders and assess the political situation in the state, a source close to her said.
The meeting will be attended by the new elected members of the state assembly, member of the legislative council, Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha members of the BSP.
All state party units of the BSP, district office bearers and zonal coordinators have also been invited for the National Executive meet.
In her address after she submitted her resignation, Mayawati had blamed "communalization of the elections by the Congress and BJP" for her defeat.
Swami Prasad Maurya, the state president of the BSP and close aide of Mayawati, has been appointed the BSP's legislature party leader.
It is reliably learnt that Mayawati might opt for a Rajya Sabha seat -- Uttar Pradesh will send 12 Upper House members in the coming by-polls later this month, and move to national politics.
The state politics, sources say, would be left to her close aide Naseemuddin Siddiqui and Maurya.
At its present strength of 80 in the legislative assembly, Mayawati can send two members to the Rajya Sabha.
Sources say that Mayawati's entry into the Upper House was a near certainty; the outgoing chief minister might pitchfork her close aide and former cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh to the Rajya Sabha.
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2G: Cabinet meets tomorrow to finalise queries for Supreme Court

New Delhi:  The Cabinet is expected to meet tomorrow to finalise details of seven questions that the government plans to ask the Supreme Court through a presidential reference on the issue of telecom licences in view of the court's verdict in the 2G scam case.
In January, the Supreme Court cancelled 122 licenses granted in 2008 by then Telecom Minister A Raja for mobile network licenses and accompanying second generation or 2G spectrum; the two judges who delivered the verdict said all national resources must be distributed only through an auction. The licenses revoked by the court had been allocated on a first-come-first-serve basis by A Raja and the judges said this policy was "fundamentally flawed" partly because it presented an advantage to anyone with access to the "corridors of power."
The government has said that while it in no way challenges the verdict of the court, it needs answers on how natural resources should be distributed hereon. The Prime Minister had in February sanctioned a Presidential reference on the matter - which means that the government will formally request President Pratibha Patil to ask the Supreme Court if its order applies to all natural resources.
NDTV has learnt that these are the seven questions that the government is likely to pose to the Supreme Court through the presidential reference:
1) Whether licenses, other than the ones auctioned, were granted illegally?
2) Were all licenses granted on a first-come-first-served basis, upto 2007 granted illegally?
3) If yes, then what steps should be taken by the government to deal with those licenses?
4) If no, is the Government of India obligated to ensure a level-playing field in granting licenses and whether it is required to withdraw spectrum allocated to all existing licenses? Also, should it be with retrospective effect and be charged and at what price and what date?
5) Is dual technology licences illegal and is the government of India required to make a level-playing field and withdraw all spectrum allocated to licensees in 2008? Should they be charged, and at what price and from what date?
6) Does the 3G spectrum auction allotted in 2010 to entities whose licenses have been quashed in the judgement referred to in the above stand withdrawn?
7) Is allocation of spectrum through auction the only legitimate mode even when it is inadequate or there is no competition?
The President can, under Article 143 of the Constitution, refer matters of public interest to the Supreme Court.  The Supreme Court will then set up a bench of either three or five judges to provide clarifications requested by the President. These judges could talk to parties involved with the case or to experts; regular hearings will be held before they share their conclusions.
The last time such a presidential referral was made was in 2004 for a dispute between Punjab and Haryana over water-sharing.
The 122 licenses that were cancelled in January are at the heart of what's believed to be India's biggest scam. As Telecom Minister, Mr Raja, now in jail for over a year, allegedly granted sweetheart deals to companies who conspired with him - not only did he give them licenses at throwaway prices, but the spectrum they needed was free. Many of the executives of these companies were arrested last year and spent several months in jail before being granted bail.
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