Amit Shah’s statement on mercy pleas is surprising, says SGPC

On Wednesday, Shiromani Akali Dal MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal had raised the issue of Rajoana’s pending mercy petition. Responding to her objection to not letting anybody, except family, make mercy pleas for a convict under the new criminal law, Shah defended the government’s position.

“If any offender does not realise his/her mistake, express remorse, then he/she does not deserve forgiveness. Only they deserve mercy who repent their crime. If someone commits a terror act, goes to jail and is not ready to admit to the crime, then I will not agree with any mercy in such a case,” Shah said in response to Badal, without naming Rajoana. Badal attempted to intervene during Shah’s response but he said he knew what she had to say.

Shah’s statement has come as a letdown for the SGPC and Shiromani Akali Dal-Badal as both are trying to throw light on the issue of Sikh prisoners.

Dhami said that the demand for the release of Sikh prisoners is within the scope of the Constitution. “The central government has also approved it through its notification in 2019 on the occasion of the 550th Prakash Gurpurab (birth anniversary) of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The government should implement its notification of 2019,” he said.

The Union government had in 2019 recommended the release of political prisoners from jails. The prisoners included Devinder Pal Bhullar and Gurdip Singh Khera, who have completed their sentences. During campaigning ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections on February 10, 2022, Gajendra Singh Sekhawat, the in-charge of the BJP’s Punjab unit, had even told the media in Jalandhar that a positive development may soon take place regarding the 2019 notification.

Dhami appealed to the government to engage in a dialogue on the issue of Sikh prisoners, adding that a five-member committee constituted by the Akal Takht Sahib has sought time to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The SGPC has formed a list of 21 Sikh prisoners who are locked up in different jails.