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Onkar Singh in Delhi
Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa on Friday denied meeting self-styled president of 'Khalistan' Jagjit Singh Chohan during his recent visit to London.
Dhindsa was in London from June 20 to June 25 and returned to India only a couple of days before Chohan's arrival.
"I did not meet Chohan during my recent visit to London. I had met him about 12 years ago at a function organised by the owner of Des Pardes magazine," Dhindsa told rediff.com on Friday morning.
Talking to rediff.com in Chandigarh on Thursday, Chohan had claimed that the likes of Dhindsa and other political leaders from Punjab had been meeting him in London.
Intelligence sources in the capital confirmed that the return of Chohan had the sanction of the central government.
They said that Chohan, who was on the pay roll of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan, was officially declared an unwanted element in May this year and his entry banned.
The sources said that Punjab Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal had met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and told him that the return of former militant leaders like Wassan Singh Zaffarwal and Chohan would be of great help to the Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party combine in the forthcoming assembly elections.
Badal had sought to play down the issue of Chohan's return.
According to Punjab Congress leaders, Chohan's lavish praise of Prime Minister Vajpayee indicates some sort of a deal between the Centre and the self-styled president of 'Khalistan'.
On Thursday, Punjab Congress Committee president Captain Amrinder Singh had demanded the arrest of Chohan for continuing to advocate 'Khalistan'.
Meanwhile, the Punjab police have started digging up the cases against Chohan.
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