Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, the grandson of slain former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, on Thursday hit out at “politicians” who welcomed the Centre’s move to commute Balwant Singh Rajoana’s death sentence to life imprisonment.
Mr. Bittu said a few politicians are terming the development as “applying balm to the wounds of Sikhs”, which clearly shows their “petty mindset”.
‘Clarify stand’
“They [politicians speaking in support of Rajoana] should clarify whether Sikhs or Punjabis are terrorists,” said Mr. Bittu.
He said during the days of militancy in Punjab, people like Rajoana used to threaten innocent people who participated in the electoral process.
“They used to threaten people that if they participated in voting, they would chop off their fingers. Politicians supporting Rajoana should not forget that they themselves have come through the same electoral process, which people like Rajoana strongly opposed,” said the Ludhiana MP.
‘Supporting Khalistanis’
Mr. Bittu said the Narendra Modi-led government and its alliance partner Shiromani Akali Dal have “stooped to the lowest level for petty political gains”.
“On one side, the Punjab police are working hard to bust several terror modules in the State, and on the other, the Union government at the behest of the Akalis are patronising Khalistanis as well as the extremists who created havoc during the dark days of terrorism in Punjab,” he alleged.
Mr. Bittu said he would continue his fight against people like Rajoana because he would not let anyone disrupt the hard-earned peace and communal harmony in Punjab.
Rajoana, a member of banned terror group Babbar Khalsa International, was awarded the death sentence for the assassination of Beant Singh.
Execution stayed
He was to be hanged on March 31, 2012, but the Centre stayed the execution after the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee submitted a mercy petition to the President.
The decision to commute the death sentence to life imprisonment comes weeks ahead of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
