LUDHIANA: Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday made it clear that his government had merely sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) the list of all long-term TADA prisoners, and had no role in the Centre’s reported decision to release Beant Singh’s killer or any other particular prisoner.
His government, said Amarinder, had only sent the list of 17 TADA prisoners held in Punjab, as required by the Centre, which had taken an independent decision on the release of the prisoners. In fact, he said, the state government was yet to receive the names of the nine prisoners who the Ministry of Home Affairs had decided to grant special exemption.
Amarinder was responding to questions on the Congress stand on reports suggesting that former chief minister Beant Singh’s killer, Rajoana, was among the eight prisoners that the Centre had decided to release, as a humanitarian gesture on the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev.
Rajoana was in the list of the 17 submitted by the state government to the Centre as he was a TADA prisoner who had completed more than 14 years in jail, like the other prisoners on the list, he added.
“As an ex-Army man, I can assure the people that we are fully prepared to counter any threat and will not let peace in Punjab be disturbed under any circumstance,” said Amarinder.