CM justifies transfer of Sikh detainees to state prisons

Manmeet Singh Gill

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 3

During a Sangat Darshan programme in villages of Jandiala Guru constituency today, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal justified the transfer of Sikh prisoners to state jails, stating it was done as per law. He said even the Rashtriya Sikh Sangat, an outfit of the RSS, too, had sought the release of Sikh prisoners languishing in jails of other states on humanitarian grounds.

“We have not released any of the prisoners. They have just been transferred from jails in other states to jails in Punjab,” he said.

Badal ridiculed former CM Capt Amarinder Singh for his mass contact programme saying the Congress had lost its base in the state with people showing confidence in SAD-BJP government’s policies.

The Chief Minister welcomed the Rajasthan High Court's directions to ban sale of poppy husk and opium in the state. He said the government had taken a number of steps to check the drug menace.

He hoped the historic decision would bring respite for Punjab as a majority of narcotics were freely flown into Punjab from Rajasthan and other neighbouring areas. He claimed drugs were not being manufactured in Punjab, but smuggled from other states or from across the border.

‘Govt not doing enough for prisoners’

Amritsar: Constituted by various Sikh outfits to spearhead the movement for the release of Sikh detainees, the Sangharsh Committee has called a Panthic convention at Hasanpur village in Ludhiana on July 6. The committee will come out with its future course of action at the convention. Sangharsh Committee convener Gurdeep Singh Bathinda said the convention had been called at Hasanpur, the native village of Surat Singh Khalsa who has been on indefinite strike over the matter. On Sikh detainees' release, he said though initially the government was positive in its approach, the process has slowed down.         — Perneet Singh

Harsimrat takes on Capt over ‘poor show’

Lambi: Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur (pic) on Friday lambasted former CM Capt Amarinder Singh, saying the Amritsar MP did not do anything for the historic town. "His low attendance in the Lok Sabha is a proof of his poor performance as an MP. He is not serious towards the people who elected him. He is now touring the state to connect to the masses, but when he was the Chief Minister, he remained elusive," said Harsimrat while talking to the media at Mann village, which she has adopted. She alleged: "During his tenure as CM, Captain had stopped all pro-people schemes such as pensions and had charged for electricity from the farmers."          — Archit Watts