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Jailed Khalistani separatist and Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat winner, Amritpal Singh's lawyer, Rajdev Singh Khalsa said that Singh's efforts were directed towards eradicating drug abuse in Punjab.
Khalsa outlined the legal strategy moving forward, emphasizing the pursuit of bail for Singh. He expressed confidence that both the BJP and AAP governments would be compelled to grant relief to Singh due to public support. "The further strategy is of getting bail. The government will have to grant them relief because there is no alternative, the government will be compelled to do so, both the BJP government and the AAP government. Amritpal Singh was making Punjab drug-free. The people have approved that his arrest was illegal and immoral," Khalsa said. Criticizing the circumstances of Singh's arrest orchestrated by the Bhagwant Mann government, Khalsa labelled it as dishonest, asserting that the portrayal of law and order issues and Hindu-Sikh tensions was false. Amritpal Singh's wife and lawyer visited Dibrugarh Jail on Wednesday to meet him following his victory in the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat, where he secured a significant lead with 4,04,430 votes. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Singh's closest contender was Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira, who garnered 2,07,310 votes. Amritpal Singh was arrested by Punjab police in April last year, weeks after he evaded police and the stringent National Security Act was invoked against him. Congress's Jasbir Singh Gill won Khadoor Sahib in 2019. Manjit Singh Manna is the BJP candidate for the seat. AAP had fielded Laljit Singh Bhullar and Shiromani Akali Dal fielded Virsa Singh Valtoha. In a highly competitive Lok Sabha election with multiple contenders, Congress managed to retain its seven seats in Punjab, equaling its previous tally. The BJP saw a dismal turnout in Punjab and Haryana in the Lok Sabha election results declared on Tuesday. While the party failed to win any seats in Punjab, it lost five seats in neighbouring Haryana, where it had won all 10 seats last time. The BJP nearly doubled its vote share in Punjab but could not retain the two seats it had won in 2019. The party lost half of its seats and 12 per cent of its vote share to the Congress in Haryana. As per the results of the Lok Sabha elections, the Election Commission of India declared results for 542 of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, with the BJP winning 240 seats and the Congress 99. The BJP victory tally was much lower than its 2019 tally of 303 and the 282 seats it had won in 2014. The Congress, on the other hand, registered a strong growth, winning 99 seats compared to 52 that it had won in 2019 and 44 seats in 2014. (ANI)
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