Release of Sikh prisoners as per Supreme Court Order: Badal

Chandigarh, July 24: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has made it clear that his government had no reservation about the release of Sikh prisoners who fulfilled the conditions laid down by the Supreme Court yesterday. At the same time, he asserted his priority was to maintain peace, unity and amity and brotherhood in the state. Press had a major role to play as a link between the people and the government in the implementation of this task.
Talking exclusively to punjabupdate.com, Badal recalled Punjab had been through the worst and none would be allowed to disturb hard earned peace for the restoration of which people made great sacrifices over the years.
Replying to a question about indefinite fast undertaken by Sikh activist Surat Singh Khalsa for the release of Sikh prisoners, he disclosed his government had been handed over a list of 65 such prisoners on his behalf by advocate Jaspal Singh Manjhpur and out of them only five were in jails in Punjab. Twenty six of them were under trial and as such, they were not entitled to relief under Supreme Court guidelines. Fifteen others were not as yet eligible as they had not completed minimum prescribed term to become eligible for pre-mature release. One of these prisoners was Balwant Singh Rajoana awarded capital punishment in the case related to Chandigarh while three others have not been identified. Badal said 20 of these prisoners were undergoing life imprisonment and 15 of them were lodged in other states including eight in UT, Rajasthan (4) and one each in Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.
He clarified that Punjab only five prisoners concerned Punjab and out of them, Swaran Singh, Dilbag Singh and Balbir Singh had not completed the required minimum sentence to become eligible for premature release. As such, only two of these prisoners qualified for pre-mature release. Their cases would be reviewed after receiving copy of the Supreme Court order. They were convicted under TADA and Arms Act.
Replying to a question, Badal said he had sought report from the Director General of Police and the Advocate General for immediate action. They would submit the report after receiving copy of the apex court verdict.
Badal enjoys people’s company during sangat darshan:
The Chief Minister said what he enjoyed the most as part of governance was his direct interaction with the people at his sangat darshan programmes which are organised for on-the-spot resolution of their problems. He would prefer to relax in the company of the people rather than taking time off from his official duties to go on leave to take rest. He said this programme provided him direct access to the people and the problems they were faced with. “At the same time, I hammer the message of maintaining amity and brotherhood to the people during these programmes”, he added.
Badal advised his ministers against dubbing Canadian police as ‘inefficient’.
Positive response to ministers’ foreign tour:
Badal claimed that the delegations comprising ministers and other party leaders that visited USA and Canada received positive response and the opposition came from that section that had been associated with anti-national activities.
He said NRIs had increasingly started playing more pro-active role in elections in their native land and hence the ministers had gone to remove their misconceptions.
At the same time, he made it clear that none of the ministers who had gone as part of these goodwill teams should use any objectionable terminology against the systems of those countries but should interact with the people there within their framework of governance. He advised his ministers against dubbing Canadian police as ‘inefficient’. He said these ministers had gone there to know the problems the NRIs faced rather than studying their governance system.
He was all praise for the NRIs and their contribution to their motherland. However, there were some elements among them who resorted to misleading propaganda. He said the state government had set up special courts and police stations for them. It had always been the endeavour of his government to facilitate their investment here.
Rebutting the criticism that the Akali Dal had reverted to the Panthic agenda, Badal said there was nothing wrong in it as that agenda was for the welfare of entire humanity. “Is it wrong to follow the path shown by our Gurus? Is it worn to exhibit sacred relics of our Gurus? Our Gurus sacrificed their lives for the cause of humanity. In case their teachings are followed in latter and spirit, this country will get transformed into paradise”, he said.
Badal also commented upon the need to popularise solar energy which is energy of the future. He said the keen interest evinced by investors in this field was an indicator of atmosphere highly congenial for investment. He especially talked of its use to the farmers and said they could earn more by giving their lands on lease for solar power projects. He outlines his three priorities which include maintaining amity and brotherhood, skill development and strengthening irrigation network.
Replying to a question about appreciation of his government by former state DGP KPS Gill, the Chief Minister maintained he would not like to react but said the Akali Dal had made sacrifices towards this end. It was a historical fact that it was the Akali Dal which had always made sacrifices for the cause of Punjab and its people.