While refusing to be drawn into a discussion, Tewari pointed out that the Supreme Court has issued a notice to the respondent and the matter continues to be in the apex court.

The BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman came out with a cryptic response on the Akali Dal stand but she made it obvious that the BJP was not on the same page as its ally. The BJP, she said, “is very clear that it does not want any terrorist bailed out ” and has always said that terrorists have no religion. “If any other party has a different stand form ours, we don’t have to answer for it,” she added. The BJP has consistently put the ruling Congress-led UPA government on the mat for not taking an an early decision on the pending mercy petition of Afzal Guru, who was allegedly involved with the attack on Parliament House. If the BJP backs its coalition partner on Bhullar, it would end up denting its longstanding campaign on terror.

The Akali Dal, on the other hand, believes that the Bhullar case could prove to be a handy electoral issue at a time when it is facing a strong anti-incumbency factor in Punjab. ”The Akali Dal has gone in for political posturing... it is difficult to say at present if it has got it right,” remarked a senior Congress leader.

The Congress, which has high stakes in next year’s Punjab polls, is clearly unhappy with Amarinder Singh’s move to emulate the Akali Dal and play the “religion card ” but is constrained from commenting on it publicly as it would show up the differences in its own ranks. Congress leaders said it was unnecessary as the psyche of the Punjab electorate has changed and religion is no longer a dominant factor, adding that the party would end up deflecting attention from the Akali Dal’s poor record in governance if it upped the ante on Bhullar.

Asked about Amarinder Singh’s stand, Manish Tewari merely said, “So far as intra-party processes are concerned, there is an institutional mechanism to deal with it. When this process will come into play, we will tell you.”