http://www.hindustantimes.com/Punjab/Patiala/Rajoana-s-kin-welcome-Akal-Takht-edict/SP-Article1-830185.aspx
Ravinder Vasudeva, Hindustan Times
Patiala , March 24, 2012
Patiala , March 24, 2012
Balwant Singh Rajoana’s family on Friday welcomed
the Akal Takht hukamnama directing Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal
and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Avtar Singh Makkar to
make efforts to save Rajoana from the gallows. Rajoana, a Babbar Khalsa militant,
is on death row in the former chief minister Beant Singh’s assassination case.
“My brother has always held the
Takht supreme and calls himself a dedicated soldier of the Panth,” said
Rajoana’s sister Kamaljeet Kaur while talking to HT on the phone from Ludhiana.
Kamaljeet said she would meet
Rajoana on Saturday in the Central Jail here and apprise him of this
development and the Takht’s decision to declare Dilawar Singh (the human bomb
who killed Beant Singh) a ‘qaumi shaheed’ (martyr of the community).
“With the declaration of
Dilawar as a martyr, my brother’s main demand has been fulfilled,” she said.
When asked if the family would
press Rajoana to appeal against the death penalty, she said, “We will not force
him to do anything. My brother always follows his inner voice. There is no
question of asking him to reconsider his decision,” she added.
Asked if the Takht’s
announcement to declare Rajoana a ‘zinda shaheed’ (living martyr) was belated,
she said, “This is not the purpose my brother has fought for. Since we respect
the Takht, I will not comment on it.”
Meanwhile, sources close to
Kamaljeet’s family said a Takht representative met her in Ludhiana on Friday
evening and had an hour-long meeting about the latest developments.
