CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asserted the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government was coming in the way of grant of parole to Bandi Singh Balwant Singh Rajoana and demanded it give its consent for the same during the hearing of the case in the Supreme Court tomorrow.
Senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia said in a statement here that the AAP government had created hurdles in the release of Bhai Rajoana on parole during the last hearing in the case in the apex court with the Punjab government counsel coming up with a lame excuse that a reply on the same could not be filed due to the vacation.
Coming down heavily on the AAP government, Mr Bikram Majithia said “governments do not sleep during vacations. The very fact that the AAP government has adopted this stand indicates that it has no intention of honouring the sentiments of the Sikh community on this extremely sensitive issue and instead is bent on opposing the wishes of the entire community. The Sikh community is aggrieved that the human rights and personal liberty of Bhai Rajoana as well as all other Bandi Singhs have been violated and wants they should be released immediately”.
Asserting that this was not the first time that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had adopted such a line, Mr Majithia said “the AAP government in Delhi considered the plea for premature release of another Bandi Singh Devenderpal Singh Bhullar seven times before finally rejecting it. This rejection was also against the promise made by AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal to ensure the release of Prof Bhullar and also after he ‘recommended’ the same”.
Asking chief minister Bhagwant Mann not to befool Punjabis, Mr Majithia said “the chief minister should immediately issue directions for a clear cut no objection for the release of Bhai Rajoana and present the same in the Supreme Court tomorrow”.
The SAD leader said the AAP government should appreciate the inordinate delay in deciding the mercy petition of Bhai Rajoana was an infringement of his right to life as guaranteed under Article 21 of the constitution. “The government is aware that the mercy petition, which was filed by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) in March, 2012 has been kept pending for twelve years. This is not all. It must also bring on record that the central government had decided to grant a special remission for the release of Sikh detainees including Bhai Rajoana by commuting the latter’s death sentence to life imprisonment on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Sri Guru Nanak Dev ji in 2019”.
On a personal note, Mr Majithia said “Bhai Rajoana has been subject to unimaginable mental agony on account of uncertainty over the fate of his life. Keeping him incarcerated even after a period of 29 years is a violation of his human rights. He deserves parole and the AAP government should not come in the way of grant of the same”.