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SGPC chief, Sukhbir Badal flay parole to Gurmeet Ram Rahim
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee president Harjinder Singh Dhami and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday objected to 40-day parole granted to Dera Sirsa head Gurmeet Ram Rahim.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami on Saturday objected to 40-day parole granted to Dera Sirsa head Gurmeet Ram Rahim, who is serving jail term under charges of murder and rape.
In a statement issued here, Dhami said that if murderers and rapists can be left free in the society like this, then what is the difficulty in releasing the Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners) who struggled for community’s rights and interests.
The SGPC president said, “The dual policy of the governments towards minorities is creating an environment of mistrust among Sikhs. He said that if Gurmeet Ram Rahim, accused of murder and rape, can come out on bail four times within a year, then why is the government not listening to the voice raised by the Sikh community for the release of Bandi Singhs”. Dhami said people of all religions live in India, but sadly, in violation of the constitution, a different policy is being adopted towards the minorities. “Minority Sikhs are continuously being ignored under hateful attitude,” he said.
Dhami questioned that what is so special about Gurmeet Ram Rahim that he is being released from jail repeatedly by ignoring the heinous crimes that he committed. He said that even after three decades of imprisonment of the Bandi Singhs, many of them were not even given parole.
The SGPC president asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to adopt a “biased” attitude towards the minorities and to ensure protection of the rights of the people of all religions as per the Constitution. “If this attitude continues, the feeling of alienation will prevail among the Sikhs who struggled for freedom of the country, which is not good for the nation. Even in the case of Bandi Singhs, the governments should adopt a compassionate policy and take the decision to release them keeping in mind their characters in the jails”, he added.
Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday condemned the parole given to rape convict and Sirsa based Dera chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim, saying repeated paroles were being given to him but justice was not being done with Bandi Singhs (Sikh prisoners) who were languishing in jails even after “completion of their sentences”.
Talking to mediapersons here, the SAD president said “the need of the hour is to apply a healing touch to anguished Sikh hearts.Instead of doing this the governments are bending over backwards to please a rape and murder convict”. He said this had only exposed the “anti- Sikh intent” of governments of the day.
