CHANDIGARH—In a meeting held on September 11, various political Sikh outfits handling the Bargari agitation announced to take up the issue of the release of political Sikh prisoners with the state and the Union governments. Notably, 86 years old Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa has been already on indefinite hunger strike seeking release of political Sikh prisoners since January 16, 2015.
Interacting with media after the meeting, the SAD (Amritsar) president S. Simranjit Singh Mann claimed that the Congress led Punjab government and the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission have addressed a majority of the issues raised in the Bargari agitation. He added that now only the issue of the release of political Sikh prisoners is left.
Mann said that they will approach the Punjab government as well as the Union government of India seeking release of all the political Sikh prisoners languishing in the jails of Punjab and in other states respectively. “There is a provision under Article 161 of the Indian Constitution under which the President and the Governor can curtail the sentence of a prisoner” he added.
Although the organizations handling Bargari agitation have claimed that majority of the Sikh issues raised by them have been addressed, but in reality there seems no outcome in the favor of the Sikh community. The Congress led Punjab government has not arrested even a single sacrilege culprit on the recommendation of Justice Ranjit Singh instead it has only used his report to build momentum against SAD (Badal) in the wake of Panchayat elections in Punjab.
