Sukhbir Singh Badal seeks audience with President, to push for Balwant Singh Rajoana’s immediate release

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal will lead a delegation of senior party leaders to President Ram Nath Kovind to push for the immediate release of Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted in former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh assassination case, as a “logical follow-up” of the earlier decision announced by the Centre to commute the latter’s death sentence to life term.

“A formal request has been sent to the President for an immediate audience. Sukhbir’s decision is consequent upon the developments in Rajoana’s case including the latest Supreme Court notice to the Union government,” a spokesperson of the SAD said, adding that the SAD president wants Rajoana to be released immediately as the Union government stands publicly committed to commuting his death sentence to a life term and as he has already spent in jail more than three times the number of years which a normal lifer spends there.

In a communication to the President seeking an audience with the Akali delegation, Sukhbir referred to “the commitment of the Modi government to commute Rajoana’s death penalty to a life sentence”.

He added, “The commitment had come on the eve of Shri Guru Nanak Devji’s 550th Parkash Utsav. Not honouring that commitment would amount to showing disrespect to the sacred event pertaining to the founder of the Sikh religion.”