SAD calls for 'Panthic' unity for release of Sikh prisoners

Asserting that a coordinated approach will be adopted in consultation with all Panthic organisations and parties as well as Singh Sabhas and the Sant Samaj, Badal said this could include leading a delegation to the prime minister to ensure the speedy release of the Sikh prisoners.


PTI | Chandigarh | Updated: 04-05-2022 22:05 IST | Created: 04-05-2022 22:05 IST
SAD calls for 'Panthic' unity for release of Sikh prisoners
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SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday appealed to all ''Panthic'' organisations to unite on a common platform to create a movement to ensure the release of Sikh prisoners who have been languishing in jails even after the expiry of their term. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president also urged the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief to take the lead and call a meeting of ''Panthic'' (religious) organisations to devise a joint strategy to fulfil the demand of Punjabis worldwide to free the Sikh prisoners on humanitarian grounds. ''We may have individual and political differences but let us set them aside for the cause of the bandi Sikhs,'' the SAD president said in a statement here. Asserting that a coordinated approach will be adopted in consultation with all ''Panthic'' organisations and parties as well as Singh Sabhas and the Sant Samaj, Badal said this could include leading a delegation to the prime minister to ensure the speedy release of the Sikh prisoners. He also thanked Akal Takth Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh for taking the lead in this direction by setting the tone for unity on this crucial issue. He said the release of the Sikhs was a long-pending issue and the entire ''Khalsa Panth'' as well as Punjabis in general were pained at the delay in their release. Badal said it was most unfortunate that the release was not taking place despite a national commitment made by the Union government in this regard by approving the release of Sikh prisoners on the occasion of the 550th Parkash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev in October 2019. He said around 50 Sikh prisoners are langushing in various jails across the country and they should be released immediately. Badal said a way had also been cleared for the release of Balwant Singh Rajoana, a convict in the assassination case of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh. He said Rajoana's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the Union government in 2019. He said it was unfortunate that Rajoana is not being released even while the Supreme Court had directed the central government to take a decision on his mercy petition. Similarly, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of Delhi is blocking the release of Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, a 1993 Delhi bomb blast convict, with the government's Sentence Review Board not taking a decision in the matter, Badal alleged. AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann owe an explanation on this count to the Sikh community, he added.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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