Lagatar24 Desk
Chandigarh, March 22: Describing the Punjab Police’s enormous manhunt for Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh as ‘extra-constitutional’ and a ‘conspiracy’, opposition party Shiromani Akali Dal on Wednesday offered legal help to anyone jailed in the operation.
“Shiromani Akali Dal has decided to provide complete legal assistance to all Sikh youth arrested in the ongoing extra-constitutional crackdown in Punjab and ensure their rights are not trampled upon by AAP Punjab,” Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal tweeted.
The conservative party has also made a list of helplines for coordinating the endeavour available, with the leading Sikh religious organisation serving as its intellectual mentor.
“Shiromani Akali Dal strongly condemns the indiscriminate arrests of innocent Sikh youth, especially the Amritdhari youth on mere suspicion through resort to extra-constitutional methods. We demand the immediate release of all innocents arrested in the ongoing crackdown,” he said in another tweet.
Shiromani Akali Dal has decided to provide complete legal assistance to all Sikh youth arrested in the ongoing extra-constitutional crackdown in Punjab and ensure their rights are not trampled upon by @AAPPunjab govt.
Helpline numbers are given below: pic.twitter.com/SHspqXPqLl
— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) March 21, 2023
“Shiromani Akali Dal stands for Justice and the protection of the rights of the Punjabis in general and the Sikhs in particular within the federal framework, with more powers to the states, a demand echoed now by other political parties too,” he added.
Badal said that the state’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership is attempting to tarnish the Sikh community through these arrests in order to polarise people and win over more supporters. On Saturday, the police detained four additional persons for allegedly aiding Singh in escaping and released seven images of the self-styled preacher, some of which showed him without a turban, in an effort to enlist the public’s assistance in apprehending the fugitive.
