Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said he was hopeful that Jagtar Singh Hawara would be granted parole soon after Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria assured him that he would speak to the Union Home Secretary in this regard.
AdvertisementMann’s move to meet the Governor comes within days of his letter to Kataria, asking him to grant 10-day parole to Hawara.
AdvertisementOn Wednesday, Mann met Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria at the latter’s residence and said he was hopeful that Hawara would be granted parole soon.
“I have assured the Governor that there would be no law and order problem in the state when Hawara comes out on parole.
The meeting between the CM and Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria lasted for about 30 minutes.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said he was hopeful that Jagtar Singh Hawara would be granted parole soon after Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria assured him that he would speak to the Union Home Secretary in this regard. Later in the day, a team of doctors visited Hawara's mother in Fatehgarh Sahib, following which, the chances of parole to Hawara this week have increased.
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Highly placed sources in the government have told The Tribune that Jagtar Singh Hawara, who was involved in the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in 1995, may be granted parole for one or two days. Except for a few months when he escaped from the high-security Tihar Jail, Hawara had remained incarcerated for three decades and is presently in a jail in Delhi.
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Mann’s move to meet the Governor comes within days of his letter to Kataria, asking him to grant 10-day parole to Hawara.
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On Wednesday, Mann met Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria at the latter’s residence and said he was hopeful that Hawara would be granted parole soon.
With this, the Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party is seemingly making a foray into the Panthic political arena, which so far is dominated by different Akali factions.
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Elections to the Punjab Vidhan Sabha are just a few months away and, if and when parole is granted to Hawara, it would mean a comeback for Mann in the Panthic political arena, after he was declared a “Guru Dokhi” by the Akal Takht.
Mann told mediapersons after meeting the Governor that he had assured him there would be no law-and-order problem in the state when Hawara comes out on parole.
“I have assured the Governor that there would be no law and order problem in the state when Hawara comes out on parole. There won’t be any sloganeering or ruckus, after the same assurance has been given to me by associates of Hawara and Sikh organisations associated with his family,” said Mann, adding that the Governor said he would send all relevant papers to the Home Secretary as soon as possible.
“We are only seeking his parole on humanitarian grounds. Hawara’s mother is old and aging. The family says that though she is very feeble, she responds when Hawara’s name is taken in front of her. For 31 years, a mother has been waiting for her son,” added Mann.
The meeting between the CM and Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria lasted for about 30 minutes.
The meeting comes in the backdrop of the statement made by Giani Harpreet Singh of Akali Dal Punar Surjit, saying that for Panthic politics to move forward, 35 per cent of tickets should be given to relatives of “shaheed parivaar” (families whose members laid down their lives defending the Sikh faith).
It also comes in the backdrop of the Akali Dal Waris Punjab De naming Satwant Singh, son of Kehar Singh, assassin of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, as its party’s candidate from Bassi Pathana.
