New Akali group makes ‘Amritpal Singh for CM’ pitch

BATHINDA: Political parties and social activists staged conferences at Takht Damdama Sahib, Talwandi Sabo, on Baisakhi.
Akali Dal (Waris Punjab De), who has been propping up NSA detainee and independent MP Amritpal Singh as its leader, also organised a conference at Talwandi Sabo. Addressing the conference for the party, Faridkot MP Sarabjit Singh Khalsa urged its activists to work hard over the next 1.5 years to take the ideas of Amritpal to the people and ensure he is elected chief minister in 2027.
Advocate Harpal Singh Khara said there were nearly 70 seats in the Malwa region of Punjab. He said they plan to field Amritpal Singh from a seat in Malwa and aim to win maximum seats from the region to ensure Amritpal is elevated as the CM.
Amritpal is lodged in Dibrugarh jail of Assam under the National Security Act (NSA) for past two years in a case related to a mob storming Ajnala police station to free one of their associates from police custody. Amritpal contested the 2024 parliamentary elections while in jail from Khadoor Sahib and won by the biggest margin in Punjab of 1.97 lakh votes, while Sarabjit Singh Khalsa, son of one of the assassins of then PM Indira Gandhi, won by over 70,000 votes from Faridkot.
Amritpal's father, Tarsem Singh, and many other leaders addressed the conference, demanding more powers for Punjab.
Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), led by ex-MP Simranjit Singh Mann, organised a conference and raised demands for more powers to states. While reiterating the demand for Khalistan, Simranjit Singh Mann accused the central govt of meting out maltreatment to Sikhs, similar to the previous Congress. "Sikhs, being in the minority, feel alienated as they are being treated badly," he said.
He also accused central agencies of getting Sikhs killed in foreign lands under a conspiracy and named Ripdaman Singh Malik, Sukhdool Singh, Hardeep Singh Nijjer killed in Canada, Avtar Singh Khanda killed in the UK, and Paramjit Singh Panjwar, Lakhbir Singh Rode killed in Pakistan.