BJP disagrees with SAD on release of terror convicts

HYDERABAD: The BJP on Thursday dissociated itself from the ShiromaniAkaliDal's demand for the "premature release" of terror convicts, signaling another point of disagreement between the two coalition partners in Punjab.

"The BJP is not in agreement with this," party president Amit Shah told reporters in response to a question on Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal seeking premature release of the 13 prisoners convicted for life over various acts of terrorism. SAD is also a part of the NDA government at the Centre.

Five of the convicts are jailed in the assassination case of former Punjab CM Beant Singh while one in the 1993 New Delhi bomb blast case in which nine people were killed and 25 others, including then Youth Congress leader Maninder Singh Bitta were injured.

Badal recently wrote to his counterparts in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Karnataka, Gujarat and administrators of Union Territories Delhi and Chandigarh seeking 'premature release' of the 13 life convicts who are jailed in these states under TADA Act for past several years.

On abrogation of Article 370, Shah said, "We have no majority in J&K, and the government has not yet been formed. The issue is not discussed."

Asked to respond to MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi's comment on ghar wapsi and Sangh Parivar, Shah dismissed him saying he does not place much importance on him. He even criticized the media for taking a stand against the BJP on the anti-conversion issue saying, "The national policy would not be decided through a discussion in the media."

On his party MP Sakshi Maharaj's controversial statement that every Hindu couple must have at least four children, Shah reiterated, "It's his personal statement and BJP is nothing to do with it."

Parrying a question on the news doing rounds on the big names including former chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy joining the party, Shah said, "The joining is not today. They are not joining the BJP today."

Amit Shah will visit Vijayawada on Friday where will chair a meeting of the office bearers of AP BJP and take stock of the membership going on there.

The BJP will emerge as the main political force in Telangana in the next four years, he said. The party got 22% of the votes in the last national elections in Telangana, Shah said, and added that he hoped the state BJP's online membership drive will achieve its target of enrolling 25 lakh new members.

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