Beant Singh’s kin to move SC if Centre commutes death penalty

“We will challenge the Centre’s decision in Supreme court,” Kotli said. “We are taking legal opinion on what grounds it will be challenged. One of the main grounds for challenging the Centre’s decision will be that Rajoana himself had never apologised and had never moved any mercy petition for commuting his death sentence,” he added.

Kotli, who is an All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary and an MLA from Punjab’s Khanna, termed the Centre’s decision unfortunate and politically motivated. “The Modi government should make it clear whether it is with peace-loving people or with those who want to vitiate the atmosphere,” he said.

Kotli alleged that the Centre took the decision as Rajoana had appealed for votes for the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally Shiromani Akali Dal during the last Lok Sabha elections. He claimed that Rajoana’s sister Kamaldeep Kaur had posted this appeal on her Facebook page.

Another grandson of the assassinated leader and Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, who had earlier warned that “Centre was playing with fire”. Tuesday said he has sought time from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah to discuss matter. “Why this double standard by the PM? On one hand, he talks about fight against terrorism and on the other, he is all set to release the most dreaded terrorist. If a sitting chief minister’s killers can be set free, how can a common man expect justice,” Bittu said in Ludhiana.

He said he will be writing individually to all the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs and “tell them about the BJP’s stand on terrorism”. “If they are thinking of gaining Sikh votes, they are living in a fools’ paradise,” he added.

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Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday had distanced his government from the issue, saying that the Congress party’s stand on Beant Singh’s killers had “always been clear and consistent — that they should serve their full sentence” — even as he said that he is personally against capital punishment.

A special court had in July 2007 awarded the death sentence to Rajoana, along with another terrorist Jagtar Singh Hawara, in the Beant Singh assassination case. In 2010, the Punjab and Haryana High Court had commuted the death sentence awarded to another accused Jagtar Singh Hawara by a Chandigarh court after Hawara challenged the death penalty

Rajoana was to be hanged on March 31, 2012, but the Centre stayed the execution after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) submitted a mercy petition to the President.

Hindu Takht burns effigy of Modi, Shah and Rajoana

Members of the Sri Hindu Takht Tuesday burnt posters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and slain Punjab CM Beant Singh’s assassin Balwant Singh Rajoana. State campaigner of Sri Hindu Takht, Varun Mehta, said Modi and Shah were trying to play politics politics on terrorism in the name of 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. He said, “16 others had died along with Beant Singh. On one hand, Modi talks about taking strong stand to eliminate terrorism while on the other hand, death sentence of Balwant Singh Rajoana is being commuted to life imprisonment.”

(With PTI inputs)