LUDHIANA, Punjab—S. Gurdeep Singh Bathinda, convener of the Bandi Singh Rihai Sangharsh Committee constituted to spearhead the struggle initiated by Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa, has blamed the Punjab Government for not taking the release of Sikh political prisoners seriously.
In a statement to Sikh24 earlier today, S. Bathinda maintained that the committee has cooperated with the Punjab Government at each level, however the latter has failed to play its part. He said that “whenever the Chief Minister urged us to meet, we went to Chandigarh to meet him”.
“It was only under pressure of massive protests across Punjab, that Badal constituted a committee to discuss the legitimate procedures for the release of Sikh detainees, but now watching slowdown in protests, the government has stopped showing interest,” he added.
S. Gurdeep Singh Bathinda informed that a Panthik Convention has been called in Hassanpur on July 6 to discuss the future course of action. He also informed that Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa might address a prominent decision on this day.
It is notable that Chief Minister Parkash Badal had appointed an eight member committee to discuss legal options for the release of Sikh detainees languishing across different jails of India. Out of these eight members, four were from Government side and the rest four were from the Sangharsh Committee.
