Lok Sabha Elections 2024: The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) on Sunday (April 28) announced its support to jailed Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh who has decided to step into the fray for the Lok Sabha Elections from the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency in Punjab as an Independent candidate. SAD (A) president Simranjit Singh Mann told the media that his party will withdraw its candidate from the seat after Amritpal Singh, who is currently lodged in Assam jail, files his nomination papers.
The Mann-led outfit had earlier announced Harpal Singh Baler as its candidate from the Khadoor Sahib seat in the state. SAD (A) president Mann said his party has decided to field Jagvir Singh Sahungra from the Jalandhar (reserve) parliamentary constituency and Gurinder Singh from Gurdaspur.
Amritpal Singh behind bars
Amritpal, who is behind the bars in Assam’s Dibrugarh under the National Security Act (NSA), will enter the fray as an Independent candidate, his mother confirmed on Friday. Earlier, his counsel had on Wednesday said that the Khalistan sympathiser will contest polls from the Khadoor Sahib seat.
'Waris Punjab De' outfit chief Amritpal was arrested in April 2023. He, along with nine of his associates, is currently jailed in Assam.
Punjab will go to polls in the last phase of seven-phased general elections on June 1. The votes will be counted on June 4.
I don’t consider myself citizen of India: Amritpal Singh
In an interview with news agency ANI in February last year, Amritpal had said that he does "not" consider himself a citizen of India and had called the passport merely a "travel document" stating that it does not make him an Indian.
"Militancy is not something that I am able to start. Nobody can start or end militancy. Militancy is a very natural phenomenon. It happens after a long period of suppression anywhere. Is militancy a constructive thing to start? I can order someone to start militancy, it does not happen like that. There is a peaceful protest. When Amit Shah said that he will suppress things, I said there will be consequences. It's not just about Indira Gandhi's murder as consequence. It's not a threat to Home Minister. I would say is a threat to us. What options do we have when there are legal binaries in India? I don't consider myself a citizen of India. I just have a passport, which does not make me Indian. It's a travel document," he had said.
(With PTI inputs)
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