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Onkar Singh in New Delhi
Simranjit Singh Mann, Member of Parliament and president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), has praised the Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed for releasing political prisoners in his state.
Mann told rediff.com, "I admire and compliment Mufti Mohammad Sayeed for redeeming the promises he had made to the people of his state. I admire him for the noble service that he has done. These actions would act as a balm for those who have been ravaged by the violence in the state."
He lashed out at former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and Jathedar Gurcharan Singh Tohra for their failure in releasing the Sikh political prisoners.
"Both of them should be held responsible for not being able to redeem the promises that they made to the people of the state before they came to power in 1997 assembly election," he said.
He accused Badal for using ill-gotten wealth to win the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee election. "The Government of India should institute a Central Bureau of Investigation probe against Badal and his family. The probe should also cover the money spent on keeping the SGPC members at Badal's farmhouse in Balasar in Haryana for two weeks and subsequently flying them to Amritsar in a chartered plane," he said.
Mann claimed that more than 500 Sikh political prisoners were being still held in jails. "Some of them have been in jail since 1984 onwards. This is criminal. If prisoners could be released in Jammu and Kashmir they should be released in Punjab too," he said.
Asked if he hoped the Congress government would release these prisoners, Mann said "They are the ones who created all the problems in the state. We do not expect much from them."
He claimed that 'hundreds of Sikhs' were still blacklisted by the Government of India.
"We have taken up this matter with the Ministry of External Affairs. Hundreds are being denied passports and visas on various grounds," he alleged.
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