SGPC President’s reaction to Union Home Minister’s statement
Amritsar, December 21: Reacting to the statement given by Home Minister Amit Shah about Sikh prisoners in the Parliament of India, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Harjinder Singh Dhami said that the human rights of the Sikh prisoners imprisoned in the country’s jails for three decades should not be ignored by any constitutional office-bearer. He said that the Sikhs already feel that they are not getting justice in their own country and now the latest statement given by the Home Minister in the Parliament has once again deeply hit the minds of the Sikhs.
Harjinder Singh Dhami said that the government should never forget the 90 percent sacrifices of Sikhs for India’s freedom. The parliament in which the home minister is giving his statement is also standing only because of the sacrifices of the Sikhs, he said.
Harjinder Singh Dhami said that the demand for the release of Sikh prisoners is within the scope of the Constitution. The Centre government has also approved it through its notification in 2019 on the occasion of 550th Prakash Gurpurb (birth anniversary) of Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. The government should implement its notification of 2019, he said.
The SGPC President said that the statement of Home Minister Amit Shah is completely contrary to the spirit of the government’s own notification and it is surprising.
He said that this matter shall be discussed under dialogue, for which the 5-member committee constituted by Akal Takht Sahib has also sought time to meet with the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He appealed to the government to engage into dialogue on the serious issue of Sikh prisoners.