Politics hots up over Bhullar

Badal should spell out his government’s stand over the “mercy” to Devinder Singh Bhullar and not just “beat around the bush and mislead” the public,he said.

Khalistan militant Bhullar,convicted for attacking former Youth Congress chief M S Bitta in Delhi in 1993,is on a death row. His mercy plea has been rejected by the President.

“If Badal is genuinely sincere towards Bhullar,let him take the initiative and bring him to some Punjab jail,” the former Chief Minister said.

Referring to Badal’s blunt refusal to answer a question on the issue in Bathinda,Capt Amarinder said it vindicated his stand that he (Badal) was only playing politics.

“Badal is only playing politics over such a sensitive issue and he has no intentions of helping Bhullar,” Amarinder said.

When asked by reporters to comment on the issue in Bathinda today,Badal reportedly told them not to put the “noose around his neck”.

In the wake of Tamil Nadu Assembly recently passing a resolution to consider the mercy plea of the three convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case,various Sikh bodies have urged Badal to convey a similar message on Bhullar.

The PCC president said the Chief Minister was saying different things on different occasions.

“Three years ago Badal said under oath that Bhullar was a hardcore criminal and a dreaded terrorist but now he was claiming to defend him,” Amarinder said adding,“If he has really undergone a change of heart let him withdraw the affidavit in the court and help Bhullar to spend his incarceration in some Punjab jail”.

The former Chief Minister said “instead of raising a hue and cry about the resolution in the state Assembly,which is a pointless exercise since the matter is already in the Supreme Court,Badal should clarify the stand of his government on the issue.”

Amarinder said whenever Badal has to get something done for himself or for his family,he asks his party to authorise him to take the final decision.

“Ask your party to authorise you to take a decision on this issue also. At least you may have the consolation of being able to do some good for someone else also,” he added.

Bajwa questions BJP stance

Chandigarh: Terming Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s proposal of an Assembly resolution seeking mercy for convicted Khalistan militant Devinderpal Singh Bhullar as politically motivated,Congress Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur Partap Singh Bajwa said the double standards and political opportunism of Bharatiya Janata Party have been exposed in the issue. “In 2008,to protect one of their trusted officers,the SAD-BJP combine stated before the Supreme Court that Bhullar was a hardened terrorist. They opposed his incarceration in Punjab citing law and order problems. Now at the end of their tenure,they want to move a resolution seeking clemency. This is a farce and a mere political stunt,” Bajwa said in a press statement. Maintaining that the death penalty for Bhullar should be commuted to life imprisonment,Bajwa said,“Life imprisonment for Bhullar is only proper,bearing in mind that there was a split verdict in the Supreme Court on the question of his guilt. He has already been in jail for 17 years and has awaited capital punishment for eight long years. On humanitarian grounds capital punishment awarded to him should be commuted to life imprisonment”.

“If the BJP does not subscribe to the views of the government that it is a part of,it should have the political courage and conviction to walk out of the alliance. The BJP sings a different tune at different times to suit their convenience,” he added.