Pro-Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singh to take oath as MP tomorrow

AMRITSAR/BATHINDA: Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh, MP-elect of Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency of Punjab, who is currently lodged in Assam's high-security Dibrugarh Jail under the National Security Act (NSA), has been granted conditional custody parole for up to or less than four days from July 5, for him to take oath as MP.
Amritsar deputy commissioner Ghanshyam Thori, who was authorised by the Punjab govt to decide on his parole, confirmed this on Wednesday, saying that specific conditions governing the parole have been conveyed to the superintendent of Dibrugarh Jail.
After meeting Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla at his residence in Delhi on Wednesday, Faridkot MP Sarabjit Singh said that Amritpal Singh will take oath as an MP on July 5 in the speaker’s chamber. He added that the speaker’s office had sent a communication to appropriate authorities to ensure that the jailed MP-elect is brought to Delhi on July 5.
According to sources, he will not have access to mobile phones or the internet and will not be permitted to interact with the media or be photographed.
Amritpal, a pro-Khalistan leader, had contested the Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate from Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency and won by 1,97,120 votes, defeating Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Punjab cabinet minister Laljit Singh Bhullar, Akali stalwart Virsa Singh Valtoha and senior Congress leader Kulbir Singh Zira.
Sources also informed that a team of Amritsar police has already left for Dibrugarh to fulfill the necessary documentation for taking Amritpal to Delhi and back. He is likely to be brought to Delhi in an Army aircraft.
A Delhi court had recently granted 2-hour custody parole to Kashmiri leader Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid, who is lodged in Tihar Jail, to take oath as an MP on July 5. Rashid won the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections as an independent candidate from Baramulla defeating his nearest rival candidate Omar Abdullah of the National Conference by a margin of over 2 lakh votes.
Three aides of Amritpal, lodged with him in Dibrugarh jail under NSA, have announced that they would contest the upcoming assembly bypolls in Punjab from Gidderbaha, Barnala and Baba Bakala seats.