Strongly opposing the extension in the National Security Act (NSA) imposed against Amritpal Singh, the Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday lashed out against Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann holding him squarely responsible for “dancing to Delhi’s tunes on Sikh and Punjab issues”.
“Punjab Government records clearly show that the decision to extend NSA in this case is Bhagwant Mann’s. His anti-Punjab and anti-Sikh face stands fully exposed now,” he said.
Going beyond and above his party’s political and ideological differences with Amritpal Singh, Sukhbir said that the decision to extend NSA in this case is a “clear violation of the Constitution and of the basic human rights and civil liberties.”
The Akali chief said: “I have already clarified several times that our party is guided by the sacred principles taught to us by the great Guru Sahiban, and accordingly, we oppose repression and injustice even against our opponents. SAD goes beyond considerations of political gain or loss while pursuing these principles. We said it in our manifesto and also in our resolutions that for the party, principles are above politics.”
He said that our differences of ideology with Amritpal Singh apart, we will oppose repression and injustice against him or against anyone else; and “we don’t care what political cost we have to pay for this. I will not flinch from these principles,” he added.
