Amritsar: The Punjab BJP on Thursday said that death row convict Balwant Singh Rajoana’s latest communication to the officiating jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Kuldip Singh Gargajj, amounted to an acknowledgment of the party’s Sikh leadership as an important interlocutor in matters involving the party’s central govt and Panthic concerns.Punjab BJP spokesperson Sarchand Singh told TOI that Rajoana’s demand itself reflected his recognition of the BJP’s Sikh leadership as a stakeholder in issues requiring engagement with the central govt. “By asking the Akal Takht to seek an explanation from senior Sikh leaders of the BJP, Rajoana has himself accepted their relevance in resolving Panthic matters that involve the Centre,” he said.Rajoana, convicted in the assassination of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, had on Wednesday urged the officiating jathedar to either ensure the withdrawal of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee’s (SGPC) mercy petition or call the BJP’s Sikh leaders to explain why the petition had remained pending despite the Centre’s 2019 notification.Sarchand Singh claimed that the contents of the letter pointed to Rajoana’s growing dissatisfaction with both the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the SGPC over the handling of his mercy petition. Sarchand Singh also referred to Rajoana’s previous public statements, saying he had endorsed Hindu-Sikh harmony, welcomed the conviction of Sajjan Kumar in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases, and appreciated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to operationalise the Kartarpur Sahib corridor.In Nov 2023, upset over the prolonged pendency of the mercy petition filed by SGPC on his behalf in 2012, Rajoana, had urged the then jathedar of Akal Takht, Giani Raghbir Singh, to direct the SGPC to withdraw the petition. A letter to this effect was submitted by his sister, Kamaldeep Kaur Rajoana. In the letter, Rajoana said the Centre had stayed his execution in 2012 and announced in 2019 that his death sentence would be commuted to life imprisonment, but the decision remains unimplemented. He also noted that the Supreme Court had declined relief citing the pending mercy petition.
