Centre hasn't kept its word on Bandi Singhs: Harsimrat Badal

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, March 3

Former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today asked the BJP to tell Punjabis why it had gone back on its commitment to release all Bandi Singhs, including Balwant Singh Rajoana.

Harsimrat stated this after addressing students at a function held to mark International Women’s Day at Sultanpur Lodhi. The Bathinda MP said the BJP as well as the Centre were answerable to Punjabis on why they had gone back on the commitment made to release all Bandi Singhs on the occasion of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev in 2019.

Asserting that a notification had been issued to release eight Sikh detainees as well as commute the death sentence of Rajoana to pave the way for his release, she said it had not been implemented. “This has hurt the sentiments of the Sikh community worldwide,” she said.

Harsimrat accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of betraying the Sikh community by “sitting” on the release orders of Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar. She said the AAP government in Delhi was using one pretext or the other to stall the Bhullar’s release for over a year. She said similarly the AAP government in Punjab had filed an adverse report citing Sikh detainee Gurmeet Singh Engineer as a threat to society, which had come in the way of his release.

Harsimrat said CM Bhagwant Mann had virtually admitted that law and order had totally collapsed in Punjab and that it needed to be “held aloft by posting additional central forces in the state”. SGPC member Gurpreet Kaur Ruuhi and Akali leaders Capt Harminder Singh and Swaran Singh were also present on the occasion. Harsimrat later visited Jalandhar and held several meetings.

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