RSS hails sentence to convicts in Beant Singh case

New Delhi, Aug 4 (UNI) In a diametrically opposite stance to that of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the RSS has hailed death sentence handed down to two of the six convicts in the assassination of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh saying these convictions have brought the guilty under the law and their faces revealed.

The SGPC, presently under the control of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his party, Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD) expressed anguish over the death sentence to the two unvictes had in the case.

The SGPC was of the view that the court ''should not have neglected the sentiments of the convicts at the time of the incident''.

The hailng of the verdict by the RSS is conspicuous as its political front, the BJP is running a coalition government with the Akalis in Punjab. The Akalis apprehend that handing down death sentences to the Sikh convicts could help the militants regain lost sympathy among the community members.

The verdicts on 'three ghastly terrorist attack cases' -- the 1993 Mumbai serial bombings, the Beant Singh assassination and the Coimbatore serial blasts were highlighted by the RSS as '' India's judgement week in the terror chronicle''.

"Though all these verdicts are delinered by lower courts and could be challenged, it is a solace that the guilty have been brought under the law and had their faces revealed," said the latest issue of the RSS mouthpiece Organiser.

The Akali Dal(Mann) and other Sikh outfits also came out against the conviction.

The RSS also hailed the conviction of film star Sanjay Dutt while criticising the Congress saying that it should not have shed tears over the punishment, ''he deserved.'' The RSS was also critical of media for its 'undue reaction' over Sanjay Dutt's conviction. It sought to remind the media that Dutt should not go scot free for keeping weapons used by terrorists.

''Nobody asks what this man was doing with AK-47s and AK- 56 in his house.. In India, most high profile culprits go scot free and by handing down well deserved punishment to Sanjay Dutt, Justice Pramod Dattaram Kode has once again proved that the Indian judiciary delivers justice, albeit a little delayed,'' the Organiser said in its editorial.

UNI