Hope dawns for Bhullar as Amarinder pleads mercy with Sonia
Thursday, 18/04/2013
http://punjabnewsline.com/news/Hope-dawns-for-Bhullar-as-Amarinder-pleads-mercy-with-Sonia.html
NEW DELHI: There seems to be some hope for the death convict Davinderpal Singh Bhullar as the entire Punjab political spectrum, except for the BJP, has pleaded for commuting his death sentence into life.
Highly placed sources revealed that the former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh reportedly pleaded with the Congress president Ms Sonia Gandhi during a recent meeting with her that Bhullar’spunishment should be commuted to life.
Although Amarinder could not be contacted, the political grapevine has that he met Ms Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday, the day the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal met the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh and the union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and pleaded with her that the union Home Ministry should take a lenient view in Bhullar’s case.
Capt Amarinder is reported to have brought to the notice of Ms Gandhi the sensitivity of the matter in Punjab. He has been strongly advocating the abolition of death penalty. In the Bhullar’s case he has consistently maintained that his death should be commuted to life since he has spent over 18 years in jail and most of these (years) under the death sentence.
Besides, Amarinder meeting Ms Gandhi, his wife and the Minister of State for External Affairs Ms Perneet Kaur also met Mr Shinde to plead for mercy to Bhullar saying it was in the best interest of Punjab.
Given the fact that Ms Gandhi along with her family has taken a lenient view in the case of the assassins of late Rajiv Gandhi, as they have not pressed for their execution, it is widely hoped in Punjab that she may favour a lenient view in Bhullar’s case as well.
With both the ruling Akali Dal and the principal opposition party Congress pleading for mercy to Bhullar, it seems quite unlikely that the death sentence in his case will be carried out. Moreover, Bhullaris suffering from acute mental disorder and is not fit to be hanged.
