In what could boil down to another major controversy, former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Thursday advocated for Khalistani terrorist Amritpal Singh, who is lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh district under the National Security Act (NSA).
Batting for Amritpal Singh, Channi said, "They speak about Emergency every day. But what about the undeclared Emergency in the country today?...This too is Emergency that a man who was elected as an MP by 20 lakh people in Punjab is behind bars under the NSA. He is unable to present the views of the people of his constituency, here (Parliament). This too is Emergency."
Singh, who heads the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit and has styled himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was jailed along with nine of his associates under the NSA. He was arrested in Moga's Rode village after he and his supporters on February 23 last year barged into the Ajnala police station breaking barricades, brandishing swords and guns, and clashed with police personnel in an attempt to free one of his aides from custody.
Earlier this month, he was flown to Delhi on a four-day custody parole for taking oath as a member of parliament.
