SAD (Waris Punjab De) holds protest, seeks Amritpal’s release

Tied in chains and wearing black ribbons on their turbans, members of the Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De) on Wednesday held a massive protest march and sit-in here, opposing the Punjab Government’s decision to deny parole to NSA detainee and Khandoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who has been lodged in Dibrugarh jail in Assam for over two years.

Various Sikh organisations marched from Ranjit Avenue to the Amritsar Deputy Commissioner’s office, where they staged a demonstration. The protest was led by Tarsem Singh, father of MP Amritpal Singh, who accused the state government of suppressing democratic rights.

A memorandum addressed to the President of India, the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Governor of Punjab was submitted, seeking immediate intervention to uphold constitutional norms.

The protesters said despite being elected with a heavy mandate, the MP was neither being released nor allowed to fulfil his parliamentary duties. They alleged that the repeated extension of the NSA by the state government amounted to “political vendetta” and an attempt to silence a democratically elected representative.

Speaking during the protest, Tarsem Singh said it was not “Loktantar” but “Rajtantar”. Referring to arguments presented in court by state counsels, who claimed that Amritpal Singh’s release or even his speech in Parliament could “disturb Punjab’s atmosphere”, the protesters termed the remarks an insult to parliamentary dignity and constitutional rights.