SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal will lead a delegation of senior party leaders to the president of India Ram Nath Kovind to push for the immediate release of Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted for the assassination of former Punjab chief Minister Beant Singh.

A statement issued by the party said a formal request has been sent to the president for an immediate audience.

The statement said SAD president wants Rajoana to be released immediately as “the Government of India 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.

Bhai Rajoana has been in jail since “

The SAD-BJP government headed by Parkash Singh Badal had refused to execute an order to hang Rajoana.

Sukhbir Singh Badal was the Deputy CM and in charge of Home affairs at that time.

After Badal had demanded the immediate release of Rajoana yesterday, some Congress leaders like Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu came out to oppose the demand.

Badal, however, refused to join the issue with Bittu’s criticism of his statement. “ I can only pray to the Almighty to grant to Ravneet Singh Bittu the strength to rise above the personal sentiment and stand by his community on a matter of principle.

I can say a lot but I do not want to lower the dignity of the Sikh quom’s demand for justice especially  Bhai Rajoana has already suffered far more than a life term in jail.,” said Badal responding to Bittu ‘personalised’ criticism of Rajoana’s demand.

In a formal communication to the President of India seeking an audience with the Akali delegation, Badal has reminded the President   of the  commitment of the Modi government to commute Rajoana’s death penalty to a life sentence The commitment had come on the eve of Shri Guru Nanak Devji’s 550 Parkash Utsav. “Not honouring that commitment would amount to showing disrespect to the sacred event pertaining to the founder of the Sikh religion.”