Jailed Pro-Khalistani Amritpal Singh to run independently in Lok Sabha polls

Singh's mother asserted that there was pressure on him to enter the political arena and disclosed that he would commence his political career from Khadoor Sahib.

Amritsar: Pro-Khalistani separatist and Waris Punjab De Chief Amritpal Singh will contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Khadoor Sahib Lok seat as an Independent candidate, said his mother Balwinder Kaur on Saturday.

Singh’s mother also claimed that pressure was being put on him to contest the polls, adding that he will now begin his political innings from Khadoor Sahib.

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The Pro-Khalistani leader is currently lodged in Dibrugarh jail in Assam.

“Pressure was being put on Amritpal Singh to contest the elections and now he is going to start his political innings from Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency. This election will not be fought by him on the platform of any party. This election will be fought as an independent candidate,” Balwinder Kaur told media.

Amritpal knows the issues of Punjab very well and these elections will be fought on those issues, she added.

The development comes a day after Singh’s father Tarsem Singh dismissed the reports of him fighting the Lok Sabha elections saying nothing is confirmed as of now and the decision to contest the polls should be that of the locals and Amritpal Singh would contest if people want him to.

“This cannot be our decision. It should be the decision of the locals. He said that he does not have any will to contest but he will if the people want him to…,” Singh said adding, “We don’t want anything, whatever the people want is fine with us…” said Tarsem Singh while speaking to reporters after a brief meeting with his son at Dibrugarh jail on Thursday.
Earlier, Amritpal Singh’s legal counsel Rajdev Singh Khalsa had also claimed that he would contest the Lok Sabha polls from the Khadoor Sahib constituency in Punjab.

Amritpal Singh was arrested in April last year and the stringent National Security Act was invoked against him. He and nine of his associates are currently lodged in Dibrugarh jail in Assam. Last month, the government extended the NSA against Amritpal and his nine associates.

Singh has been on the run since March 18 last year, the day Punjab Police launched a massive manhunt for him.

The crackdown came three weeks after Amritpal’s supporters stormed Ajnala police station in Amritsar on February 23, demanding the release of one of his aides, Lovepreet Toofan.