Sikh separatist Amritpal Singh, who is serving time in jail and was recently elected to the Lok Sabha from Khadoor Sahib in Punjab, dismissed his mother’s statement where she said that her son was not a Khalistani supporter.
Singh released a statement a day after taking oath as a Lok Sabha MP where he regretted his mother’s statement and said he would choose a ‘cult’ over ‘family’. “Dreaming of a Khalsa state is not a crime,” Singh said in a statement released on social media site X, while disagreeing with his mother.
Jailed radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh and Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid, who were granted parole to take oath as members of the Lok Sabha, were sworn in as MPs on Friday, amid heavy deployment of security personnel in and around the Parliament complex.
While Rashid, popularly known as Engineer Rashid, is in Delhi’s Tihar jail in a terror funding case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Singh is lodged in a prison in Assam’s Dibrugarh district for offences under the National Security Act.
“Today, when I came to know about the statement made by my mother, my heart was very sad. Even though I am sure that she made these remarks with the best of intentions, such a statement should not come from my family or anyone who supports me,” Singh said in a statement issued on social media site X.
Singh’s mother Balwinder Kaur had demanded the release of her son from the jail in Assam and said that her son is not a Khalistani supporter.
“We demand that he be released immediately so that he can thank supporters and work on the issues on the basis of which elections were won,” said Kaur at her residence.
“He is not a Khalistani supporter. Punjab’s rights and saving Punjab’s youth (from drugs), can anyone become a supporter of Khalistan. He fought elections within the ambit of the Constitution and took oath. One should not say such a thing. He will raise Punjab’s issues and will save youth (from drugs),” she was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
However, Singh appeared to dismiss his mother’s statement and went on to say that he would choose ‘cult’ over family.
“Dreaming of a Khalsa state is a matter of pride, not a crime, it is a matter of pride. We cannot even dream of backing down from the path for which millions of Sikhs have sacrificed their lives. I have said this many times while speaking from the stage that if I had to choose between cult and family, I would always choose cult,” Singh said.
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