Akal Takht jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh, who had convened a meeting of panthic organisations on Monday, issued a 24-hour ultimatum for the release of all supporters of Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh, arrested by the Punjab police since the launch of its crackdown on March 18, Times of India reported.
The jathedar, on Saturday, had urged the fugitive chief of Waris Punjab De to surrender and face the legal process.
The meeting decided that if the ultimatum is not honoured, the Akal Takht will launch ‘Khalsa Wahir’ to expose the government’s machinations at the village-level. Amritpal was to start the second leg of his ‘Khalsa Wahir’ from March 19. The jathedar said that during this Wahir apart from propagation of the religion, an anti-drug campaign would also be carried out.
“All the Sikh bodies, including SGPC and SAD will go to people and highlight how the Sikhs are being terrorised and defamed,” SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said while briefing the media.
The meeting also held the Punjab and the central governments along with a few national media houses responsible for creating an atmosphere of hatred against the Sikhs as part of a ‘conspiracy’.
The jathedar has directed SGPC to take legal action against the “forces bent upon defaming Sikhs in India and abroad and we have already set up a panel of lawyers for this”.
The representatives of Sikh bodies issued another ultimatum to restore the 100-odd Sikh channels closed by the Punjab government. They asked all the Sikh bodies to unitedly fight against the alleged suppression of Sikhs.
At the meeting in Akal Takht, a few Sikhs raised slogans in favour of Khalistan, in support of Amritpal and against some national media houses.
The meeting also agreed to provide free legal support to all those arrested during the ongoing operation against Amritpal. “The jathedar has issued an open invitation to all the families whose children have been arrested in unnecessary cases to contact SGPC. Our panel of lawyers will contest their cases and the SGPC will pay the fees of lawyers already hired by the aggrieved families,” Dhami said.
The Sikh bodies also decided to move the high court against the imposition of the stringent National Security Act against the seven Sikhs.
Expressing concern over false representation of flags of different Sikh states, including Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s empire, as Khalistan flags bythe police, the Akal Takht Jathedar directed SGPC to take action against police officials.
He also urged Sikhs to fly flags of ‘Khalsa Raj’ atop their houses and on their vehicles.
Observing that a diplomatic conspiracy was being hatched against Sikhs, the Jathedar said the Sikhs should reply in diplomatic terms and not violently.
