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Badal founder of new Punjab, true nationalist: Home minister Amit Shah
Shah was accompanied by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla as he addressed the prayer meeting (antim ardas) for former chief minister and Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal at his native Badal village in Muktsar on Thursday; SGPC chief seeks release of Sikh prisoners
A day after the Supreme Court declined to commute Babbar Khalsa terrorist Balwant Singh Rajoana’s death sentence to life imprisonment, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Harjinder Singh Dhami on Thursday urged the BJP-led Centre to intervene and release Sikh prisoners who had completed their terms in jails across the country.
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Addressing a gathering at a prayer meeting (antim ardas) for former chief minister and Akali patriarch Parkash Singh Badal at his native Badal village in Muktsar on Thursday, Dhami urged Union home minister Amit Shah, who was present, to ensure the release of the prisoners as a befitting tribute to the late leader.
“The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the BJP are old political allies. Now, as the BJP is in power in the Centre, the issue can be resolved. The release of Bandi Singhs was close to Badal sa’ab’s heart. He told me that it was his last wish to see the prisoners walking out of jail,” Dhami said.
Bandi Singhs is the term given to Sikh prisoners convicted for involvement in militancy in Punjab in the ’80s and ’90s and are still in jail in various parts of the country.
Since militancy was wiped out in the early 1990s, Sikh activists argue that prisoners who have spent over three decades in jail, including some who are some are physically and mentally unfit, should be released.
The SGPC head did not mention any specific names of prisoners. “There was some success in the release of prisoners but still some work is to be done. Today, I will hand over a letter in this regard,” the SGPC chief said from the dais.
In his address, Shah refrained from making any comment on the issue raised by Dhami.
Paying tributes to the Akali patriarch, Shah said Badal will be remembered as a true nationalist “who always stood with the nation during Emergency and terrorism days (in Punjab)”.
“In the demise of Badal sa’ab, the Sikh panth and agrarian community has lost a committed voice. He was an undisputed leader of the masses. He was the epitome of communal harmony who tirelessly worked to maintain the brotherhood of Hindu-Sikh communities. His contribution can be summed up from the fact that a temple, mosque and a gurdwara at Badal village were built by the late leader,” Shah said.
He said the five-time chief minister was the real founder of new Punjab. “After getting elected as a lawmaker for a record number of times and spending over 70 years in public life, Badal has no enemy,” he said.
The antim ardas of the late leader drew hundreds of people from all walks of life to pay tributes.
Thanking the sangat gathered for the last prayers of Badal, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal sought forgiveness from the Sikh Panth (community) and Punjabis for any inadvertent mistakes that may have been committed in the past by him, his family or elders. “I was moved by the love expressed by people from India and abroad. My father was a true nationalist, secular and compassionate to work for the agrarian community and I intend to follow in his footsteps. My family will remain dedicated to the community and society,” he added.
Several leaders of the BJP, CPI, Congress and religious organisations were present.
BJP leader and former state finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal also made an emotionally charged speech while remembering Badal.
He urged his estranged cousin and SAD president Sukhbir Badal to take the political legacy of the Badals ahead successfully.
In his address, senior Akali leader Prem Singh Chandumajra urged Sukhbir and Manpreet to bury the hatchet and rejoin politically.
