The Fact News Service
Tarn Taran, May 4
The Khadoor Sahib constituency that will go on polls on June 1, is in the spotlight since Sikh radical preacher Amritpal Singh, who is lodged in Assam’s Dibrugarh prison under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) has announced to contest as an independent candidate from this Lok Sabha seat.
As the Khadoor Sahib constituency is known to be a Panthic seat, the hardcore Sikh organizations are set to play a key role in the elections.
This time, Paramjit Kaur Khalra, wife of late human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra who was fielded as a ‘Strongest Panthic face’ by Sukhpal Singh Khaira’s Punjabi Ekta Party (PEP) in 2019, is the election in-charge of Amritpal’s campaign.
In an exclusive conversation with Babushahi Network, Paramjit Kaur Khalra spoke about Amritpal’s agenda for this election, current Panthic issues, and how Punjab in general and the Khadoor Sahib constituency in particular will be represented in the parliament if Amritpal Singh wins.
On which agenda Amritpal Singh and his team are fighting in this election?
Our core agenda for this election is the release of Sikh prisoners lodged in jail for decades. Also, if a person like Amripal wins an election, there will be an end to the drug menace. If he encourages the masses to connect to Panth that will eventually make them leave drugs, there is nothing wrong with it.
You have fought a long battle for justice for your husband and fake encounters with Sikh youths during Emergency. What made you extend your support to Amritpal Singh? Are you both fighting for the same cause?
I had no intentions of contesting in elections this time, I just wanted to focus on Jaswant Singh Khalra’s mission but there was a huge demand by the supporters that I get in the elections fray. Amritpal had earlier refused to contest the election but after a huge demand from the Sangat, he finally agreed. Whenever there is a violation of human rights, Khalra Mission will stand against it.
So far, we are receiving a good response and it is also the responsibility of the media to share our messages with the people. Things have changed now. It’s the age of social media. Earlier, youth used to vote as per their elders’ preferences but now they make their own choice. In fact, the current generation is telling their parents whom they should vote for based on the candidate’s or party’s performance and agenda.
When you contested from this seat in 2019, you received massive support on various social media platforms and from the public but the results were surprising. Do you think history will repeat?
I speak from experience that priority needs to be given to working on the ground and interacting with the people. No doubt, social media helps a great deal with spreading our messages to the masses but ground campaigning should be given a priority. We already have 2.5 lakh votes in our support (Khalra’s vote tally in 2019 polls) and for the extra votes, we need to see who is in the fray from the constituency. I have been telling the team of my drawbacks in the last elections. I have been sharing with them the importance of ground campaigning both in rural and urban areas and letting the masses know that we are fighting for the truth.
Along with the release of Sikh prisoners, what kinds of reforms Amritpal Singh intends to bring to the Khadoor Sahib constituency?
Although the release of Sikh prisoners is our core agenda, we won’t just stop there. If Amritpal wins the elections, he will surely bring many reforms to the segment. Right now, opening trade with Pakistan is very crucial. Abolishing drugs, and our kids moving abroad are major issues of the state. Due to the corporate houses, we have lost 700 farmers in Delhi borders. Even now, our farmers are sitting on borders. There is a lot that needs to be worked on. The parties are trying to woo voters with freebies but our state is just functioning in a deep debt trap. Right now, every newborn in the state is born with Rs 1 lakh debt.
Why is Punjab reeling with drug problems despite the steps taken by the different governments against drugs in the state?
The people who are in the drug business will never want this cycle of demand and supply to end. We need to focus on the root cause of this drug menace. Amritpal Singh has encouraged the youth to be Amritdhari. The kid or youth who truly becomes Amritdhari will never touch drugs no matter how many drug traders try to woo them. The supply will never end as the greed of such people will never end.
Capt Amarinder has taken the oath of Gutka Sahib to break the back of drugs and drug mafia, and AAP made similar promises to the people. We are not making such promises, we are only focussing on the solution that is to bring youth to the right path.
Is Khalistan still a core movement of Amritpal and his team?
Amritpal Singh and his team decided to fight in this election with the full understanding that this election would be fought in adherence to Indian laws and the constitution. There should be no doubt about it. In the past when he made a statement on an Indian passport, Amritpal just said that I consider it a travel document, and that’s what it is. He has always raised his voice against human rights violations and the release of Sikh prisoners.
Punjab is witnessing massive migration at this time. It is seeing brain drain. How will this affect Punjab’s future?
Many seats in colleges and Universities are lying vacant because the youth are opting to move abroad for a better life. Even if they are facing hardships there, they don’t want to return. Even their parents don’t want them to return. It is not just the people who are migrating, a huge amount of capital is flowing abroad. Once kids get PR, even their families sell their properties and move there. The future of Punjab looks grim in such a scenario. To stop this mass migration, the government should provide better job opportunities to the youth. Even my kids told me that if they will get better opportunities, they will stay here or else move abroad. Now they have secured white-collar jobs there. If they get better opportunities here, why will they move abroad?
How is Amritpal Singh’s agenda is different from Akali Dal.
Amritipal and his team are fighting for the truth and human rights. Punjab has seen and is currently witnessing massive human rights violations. Some ‘Manuwadis’ have decided that only after eliminating Sikhism, Punjab will be nationalized. The Centre’s agenda is against Sikhism but what they do not understand is that Punjab is the land of Gurus and Peers. Whenever you try to disturb or undermine Sikhism, it will grow with more vigor. This is a land where figures like Mian Meer laid the foundation of the Golden Temple, where Diwan Todar Mal paid in gold Mohran to cremate the bodies of Sahibzadas and mother of Guru Gobind Singh Ji, Moti Ram Mehra who risked his life to serve milk to the Mata Gujri and Sahibzadas. The communal harmony is something that is passed on to us from our Gurus.
There is no communal disturbance in Punjab. We are not fighting elections to create disturbance in the parliament or do corruption with the use of power. We are fighting for human rights. Sri Guru Granth Sahib is our real manifesto. If some people are doubting our intentions, we can meet them and clarify our intentions.
Who do you see as your rival party in this election campaign?
Every candidate will see himself as a strong contender but we are rising above it. We are giving priority to the quality. We have no intention to make false promises to the masses. Our target is to hold those accountable who conspired a series of sacrilege incidents in Punjab and also those who ordered an attack on Akal Takht. Also, people are still testing those who came into power in 2022 but anti-incumbency is visible. Whatever people will decide, we will humbly accept it.
SAD candidate Virsa Singh Valtoha recently met Amritpal Singh’s parents. He claimed that Amritpal’s family extended support to him. Any comments?
Virsa Singh Valhota says he was lodged in jail for eight years under the NSA and compares himself with Nelson Mandela. He should understand that Nelson Mandela was someone who spent 27 years in jail for fighting against racism. He should be asked what he has done for those lodged in jail under the NSA when their party was in power for 10 years. Akali Dal should also answer what they have done for Jaswant Singh Khalra who was their general secretary, human rights. They appointed Izhar Alam as their secretary and Sumedh Saini as their DGP. It is not in our nature to stand with such people.
How will Amritpal Singh manage to run the election campaign from jail? What is allowed by the jail administration?
Only the individuals who share a blood relation with Amritpal can meet him in jail. Only his parents and sister meet him. We can’t meet him in jail but we have to understand this situation deeply. It is a fight for human rights. Whoever dares to speak for the truth and rights of others is put in jail like Dibrugarh by imposing the strongest NSA. Since it’s a legal matter, I don’t want to comment on how he is communicating with the team regarding the campaign and what has been allowed by the jail administration. His team’s focus is only on human rights.
Khadoor Sahib was the epicenter of Punjab’s militancy, which later spread across the state. The Damdami Taksal, which was headed by Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindrwanwale, is located at Chowk Mehta and falls in this constituency. Areas like Baba Bakala, Harike witnessed the worst incidents of violence during the 1980s-90s.
