Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal on Saturday
sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention in saving
the life of death row convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar whose
mercy petition had been rejected by the President.
In a statement here, the ruling party in Punjab sought
"direct and immediate intervention of the Prime Minister to
save the life of Bhullar on grounds of humanitarianism and
civilised concern and above all the national interest".
It said "the Prime Minister should personally see that
the highest norms of jurisprudence, legal precedents and
issues of statesmanship are kept firmly in view in the matter
and a sympathetic view taken."
This, the statement said, would be "an act of grace
which will ensure that the atmosphere of acrimony, suspicion
and estrangement between the Sikhs and the Centre is not
vitiated any further".
The statement was released on behalf of party patron
Parkash Singh Badal and president Sukhbir Singh Badal.
President Pratibha Patil had rejected the mercy
petition of Bhullar, a member of the Khalistan Liberation
Force (KLF).
Bhullar was sentenced to death by a trial court on
August 25, 2001 for plotting terror attacks on Punjab SSP
Sumedh Singh Saini in 1991 and the then Youth Congress head M
S Bitta in 1993.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, May 29, 2011, 00:08