Badal Offers Legal Assistance to Sikhs Arrested in Amritpal Singh Case

Badal Offers Legal Assistance to Sikhs Arrested in Amritpal Singh Case

The chattering classes fear that with his acts of oppression, CM Bhagwant Mann will bring the days of terrorism back to Punjab. 

By Rakesh Raman

The president of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Sukhbir Singh Badal is offering legal assistance to Sikhs arrested in Amritpal Singh case. In an act of repression, the Punjab Government – in collusion with the central agencies – is arbitrarily arresting hundreds of Sikhs in Punjab with the unsubstantiated claim that they are associated with Amritpal Singh who is leading a social reform group ‘Waris Punjab De’ (or inheritors of Punjab).

Punjab Police also claimed that Amritpal Singh escaped when police were chasing him on March 18, although social and political activists believe that the Sikh leader is in police custody and the police might kill him in a fake encounter.

Although SAD is a defunct political group, in order to provide legal assistance to the people being persecuted, Badal released on March 21 a list of helpline phone numbers of SAD legal team which could be approached by the aggrieved people.

“Shiromani Akali Dal has decided to provide complete legal assistance to all Sikh youth arrested in the ongoing extra-constitutional crackdown in Punjab and ensure their rights are not trampled upon by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab,” Badal said in his tweet.

Similarly, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann – who is a member of parliament (MP) from Sangrur in Punjab – has also expressed his apprehension that youth Sikh leader Amritpal Singh may be eliminated by Punjab Police.

[ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਸੰਸਦ ਮੈਂਬਰ ਨੂੰ ਸਿੱਖ ਆਗੂ ਅੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਪਾਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਦੇ ਗੈਰ-ਨਿਆਇਕ ਕਤਲ ਦਾ ਖਦਸ਼ਾ ਹੈ ]

Amritpal Singh is leading a state-wide initiative in Punjab to save youth from drug addiction which is widespread in the state. Since it is believed that the Punjab drug mafia is being clandestinely run by some politicians and other criminals, they wanted to get rid of Amritpal Singh.

This is the main reason that Punjab chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann – who is an illiterate and addict – launched a crackdown in collusion with the central government to implicate Amritpal Singh and his supporters by using draconian laws such as the National Security Act (NSA). 

Now, without any evidence, the Punjab Police is making a slew of false allegations – such as his links with Pakistan and possession of weapons – against Amritpal Singh in order to implicate him in false cases and tarnish his character.

It is largely believed that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) politician Bhagwant Mann has joined hands with the central government of prime minister (PM) Narendra Modi for oppression in Punjab because under a secret agreement he wants his AAP colleagues released from jail.

An AAP leader Manish Sisodia has been jailed for his alleged involvement in a massive liquor scandal in Delhi. Complaints have been filed against the Bhagwant Mann government also because Sisodia’s controversial liquor policy is being implemented in Punjab also. 

Another AAP leader Satyendar Jain is in Delhi’s Tihar jail for his alleged involvement in a serious money laundering case. If Bhagwant Mann attacks Sikhs in the state, it will be electorally beneficial for Modi who leads a Hindu outfit Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). 

In return, it is possible that the Modi government would release AAP’s Sisodia and Jain from jail. So, there is a likelihood that as part of a dirty political game plan, the Punjab Government of Bhagwant Mann is harassing and persecuting Sikhs under a secret quid pro quo deal with the Modi government.

[ Punjab MP Fears Extrajudicial Killing of Sikh Leader Amritpal Singh ]

The Punjab Government also committed a gross human rights violation as it is alleged that instead of keeping the arrested people in Punjab jails, the government allowed them to be imprisoned in a remote Dibrugarh jail in Assam so that their relatives should not meet them.

The chattering classes fear that with his acts of oppression, CM Bhagwant Mann will bring the days of terrorism back to Punjab. Under his government, Punjab is facing extreme political turmoil, unemployment, illiteracy, agricultural downturn, bureaucratic and political corruption, drug addiction, mafia culture, youth exodus, religious fundamentalism, and other evils that have made life miserable for the people of Punjab.

With the aim to hide his failures, Bhagwant Mann is diverting people’s attention to unrelated issues such as his oppressive operations against the people of Punjab. Now, because of massive corruption and misgovernance in his regime, people are demanding an autonomous state in the form of Khalistan so that peace and prosperity could be brought back to the land of Sikh gurus.

The Bhagwant Mann government has also unleashed police terror on peaceful protesters – including men, women, and senior citizens – who are demanding the release of Amritpal Singh and others who have been arrested illegally.

The protests against the Bhagwant Mann government are not only being held in Punjab, but Sikhs are protesting in different parts of the world against his repression of innocent Sikhs.

It is believed that the law and order situation will worsen in Punjab if Bhagwant Mann is not removed from the CM position in the state. Since the traditional political groups including the ruling AAP, BJP, Congress, and SAD are full of corrupt politicians who are hell-bent to ruin Punjab, a new political structure is required in the state.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He has also launched the “Power Play: Lok Sabha Election 2024 in India” editorial section to cover the news, events, and other developments related to the 2024 election.