Driving Naari Programme launched in Chandigarh
Chandigarh, The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today received an assurance from union home minister Rajnath Singh that the Jodhpur detainess would get their just due, even it urged him to expedite release of all Sikh prisoners who were still languishing in jails after completion of their jail term.
The SAD delegation, which was led by union food processing minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and included mps Balwinder Singh Bhundur and Naresh Gujral besides Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Managing Committee (DSGMC) president Manjit Singh GK and SGPC executive committee member Bhagwant Singh Sialka, also urged the Home minister to declassify all papers related with Operation Bluestar so that the role of the Congress party as well as that of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi could be brought before the people. It also urged the home minister to resolve the issue of historic Dang Mar Sahib gurdwara besides intervening to remove grievances of Sikh community in Shillong.
Giving details about the meeting, Mrs Harsimrat Badal said Mr Rajnath Singh gave a patient hearing to the delegation and assured it that he would examine all their points for speedy redressal.
Speaking on the issue of Jodhpur detainees, Mrs Badal said the delegation briefed the Home minister that an Amritsar court had passed an order in 2017 awarding compensation to 40 Sikh youth who were taken into illegal custody from Shri Darbar Sahib Complex after completion of Indira Gandhi’s inhumane attack on the shrine in 1984. She said the youth, who were awarded compensation of Rs four lakh each, had been incarcerated in Jodhpur jail for four to five years before being released. She said a total of 365 youth had been detained from the Golden Temple complex after the army action.
The delegation briefed Mr Rajnath Singh that now when an opportunity had arisen to give partial closure to the sufferings, the CBI has moved an application in the Punjab and Haryana high court appealing against the judgement of the session’s court. The delegation said this move had hurt the sentiments of the Sikh community worldwide because the CBI had followed the Congress government stand on this issue. It said this stand needed to change under the NDA government. It also asked the home minister to speed up the process for award of adequate compensation to all Jodhpur Sikh detainees and their families and not only the 40 detainees who have been awarded compensation as of now. It also said this compensation should also be increased further as the Rs 4 lakh awarded to the 40 erstwhile detainees was not commensurate with the suffering caused to them and well as the loss of the most precious years of the their life.
The delegation also brought to the notice of Mr Rajnath Singh that Sikhs prisoners, who were languishing in various jails on terror charges even after completion of their sentences, should be released fortwith. It requested the home minister to direct various state governments holding these detainees to release them immediately.
The delegation also urged the home minister to order declassification of all files related to the Congress party and well as former PM Indira Gandhi’s role in Operation Bluestar. It said people were still unaware of the conspiracy under which the army had been ordered to attack the holiest of Sikh shrines – Sachkhand Shri Harmandir Sahib – by Indira Gandhi. It said following a recent United Kingdom court order telling the government to declassify all papers related to Britain’s involvement in Operation Bluestar, the Union government must now take necessary steps to secure these papers from its counterpart in England.
The delegation also asked Mr Rajnath Singh to intervene and remove the grievances of the Sikh community in Shillong. They said Sikhs in Shillong had been subject to brutal attacks and were being coerced to move out from areas which they had inhabited for decades. It asked the home minister to give ownership rights to Sikhs to the areas where they were residing to ensure they were not uprooted from their residences.
The delegation members also briefed the home minister that the Dong Mar gurdwara issue in Sikkim had still not been resolved. They said the swarup of Shri Guru Granth Sahib was shifted from the gurdwara and other statues had been installed in the place of Sikh worship. They said this situation had lingered on for more than one year and needed to be addressed urgently.
