Amritpal to contest Lok Sabha polls from Khadoor Sahib as Independent, says mother

Radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh, who is lodged in an Assam prison under the National Security Act (NSA) since April last year, will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Khadoor Sahib in Punjab as an independent, his mother Balwinder Kaur said on Friday.

Amritpal, who is chief of the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, was arrested on April 23 last year, and the stringent National Security Act (NSA) was invoked against him. He along with nine of his associates is currently lodged at the Dibrugarh jail. Earlier on Wednesday, Amritpal’s legal counsel Rajdev Singh Khalsa had also claimed that he would contest the elections.

Amritpal’s mother Balwinder Kaur, who is sitting on indefinite protest in Amritsar demanding the shifting of Amritpal and other nine NSA detenues to Punjab, said her son has decided to enter the poll fray to fight for the issues facing the Sikh community.

“The decision to contest elections has been taken on the demand of sangat and panchayats of the constituency. The government hasn’t stopped from committing atrocities against the Sikhs and the aim of contesting the polls is to take the issues of the Sikhs to a bigger platform, get the Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners) released from the jails, counter the tyrannies of the government against the community and intensify the drive of dharam parchar (religious propagation),” she said.

Balwinder Kaur added that initially, Amritpal was not in favour of contesting the polls but now feels that under the changed circumstances, with people coming out in support, it’s the need of the hour.

“This decision has been made keeping given the changed circumstances,” she added.

AAP has fielded minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, while BJP has named Manjeet Singh Manna from the Khadoor Sahib. SAD and Congress are yet to announce their nominees.

On Friday, Amritpal’s father Tarsem Singh and uncle Sukhchain Singh had met him at the Dibrugarh jail in Assam on Thursday but had alleged that they could not discuss the prospects of him contesting the LS polls due to the ‘strictness of the authorities.’ Speaking to reporters, the duo said they would take up the ‘non-cooperative attitude’ of the jail authorities with the Dibrugarh district commissioner and return next week for a detailed discussion with Amritpal.

Amritpal was arrested in Moga’s Rode village on April 23 last year following a more than one-month-long manhunt and the stringent NSA was invoked against him. The Khalistan sympathiser had escaped the police net in Jalandhar district in March last year, switching vehicles and changing appearances.

The Punjab police had launched the crackdown after the February 23 Ajnala incident last year in which Amritpal Singh and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and barged into the police station on the outskirts of Amritsar city, and clashed with police for the release of Lovepreet Singh Toofan, one of his aides.

He and his associates had been booked under several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempts to murder, attacks on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.

Human rights lawyer Navkiran Singh said there is no bar on contesting an election by a detainee under any Indian law. “As per Section 8 (3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, if a person is convicted of any offence and sentenced to an imprisonment of 2 years or more, this will be disqualification to contest elections. To my mind, preventive detention does not invite disqualification,” he added.

Former Punjab advocate general Vinod Ghai also said: “According to section 62(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, no person can vote at any election if he is confined in a prison, whether under a sentence of imprisonment or transportation or otherwise, or is in the lawful custody of the police. However, the law provides for voting rights of those under preventive detention.” Shiromani Akali Dal, which had earlier, hinted at the possibility of supporting Amritpal, refused to comment on the latest development.