SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday strongly opposed the extension of Khadoor Sahib MP-elect Amritpal Singh’s detention by one year, calling the Punjab government’s move a “clear violation of the Constitution and of the basic human rights and civil liberties”.
The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), an apex gurdwara body, also condemned the extension of Amritpal’s detention.
The detention of radical preacher Amritpal, who is lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail under the National Security Act (NSA), has been extended by a year from April 23, 2024.
Amritpal, the chief of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, is currently lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh jail along with nine associates under the NSA.
In a statement on Thursday, Badal lashed out at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, holding him responsible for “dancing to Delhi’s tunes” on Sikh and Punjab issues.
“The Punjab government records clearly show that the decision to extend NSA in this case is Bhagwant Mann’s. His anti-Punjab and anti-Sikh face stands fully exposed now,” alleged Badal.
Badal emphasised that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) “is fully committed to the atmosphere of peace and communal harmony in the state and will continue to lead the efforts to preserve it”.
There can be no progress and prosperity without peace and communal harmony and the SAD will not flinch from its responsibility in this regard, he said.
“At the same time, we are equally firmly opposed to the repressive black laws like the NSA and the UAPA,” he added.
Going beyond and above his party’s political and ideological differences with Amritpal Singh, Badal said the decision to extend NSA in this case is a “clear violation of the Constitution and of the basic human rights and civil liberties”.
Badal further said, “I have already clarified several times that our party is guided by the sacred principles taught to us by the great Gurus and accordingly we oppose repression and injustice even against our opponents. The SAD goes beyond considerations of political gain or loss while pursuing these principles.
“We said it in our manifesto and also in our resolutions that for the party, principles are above politics. Our differences of ideology with Amritpal Singh apart, we will oppose repression and injustice against him or against anyone else and we do not care what political cost we have to pay for this. I will not flinch from these principles,” said Badal.
Notably, Badal in one of his poll campaigns during the recently-concluded Lok Sabha polls, had urged people to evaluate if Amritpal had been “propped up by central agencies”.
“What other explanation can be that a person who was first propped up, then projected, then arrested and is now being kept in safe custody only to be used as a candidate in the parliamentary elections to counter the popularity of the SAD,” Badal had said last month.
He had then also pointed out the dichotomy in Amritpal’s earlier stand that he did not want to enter politics and was only interested in ‘amrit parchar’ and fighting the drug menace.
SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami condemned the extension of detention.
“Amritpal Singh was elected as MP from Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency by the people of Punjab by casting a large number of votes to him. But the state government led by the Aam Aadmi Party and the Centre government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party have taken this extremely reprehensible action of extending NSA on Amritpal Singh, which is not appropriate in view of human rights and it disregards the sentiments of the people of Punjab,” Dhami said in a statement.
Having fought the 2024 Lok Sabha electoral battle as an Independent, Amritpal won from the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat after he defeated Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira.
Amritpal won by a margin of 1,97,120 votes. He polled 4,04,430 while Zira got 2,07,310.
Amritpal, who styled himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was arrested in Moga’s Rode village on April 23 last year following an over a month-long manhunt.
The Khalistan sympathiser had escaped the police net in Jalandhar district on March 18, switching vehicles and changing appearances.
The Punjab Police had launched the crackdown after the February 23 Ajnala incident last year in which Amritpal and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and barged into the police station on the outskirts of Amritsar city, and clashed with police for the release of Lovepreet Singh Toofan, one of his aides.
He and his associates were booked under several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.
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