Congress leader and former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has sparked controversy by publicly supporting Amritpal Singh, who is currently detained under the National Security Act (NSA) in Dibrugarh, Assam.
Undeclared Emergency in India by the BJP pic.twitter.com/oe6a0P6qLd
— Charanjit Singh Channi (@CHARANJITCHANNI) July 25, 2024
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Channi criticized the government, saying, “20 lakh Indians have elected Amritpal Singh, and now the government is restricting his freedom by imprisoning him under the NSA. This is like an emergency.”
Who Is Amritpal Singh?
Amritpal Singh, who won the recent Lok Sabha election as an independent candidate from the Khadoor Sahib constituency, defeated Congress’s Kulbir Singh Zira by a significant margin of 197,120 votes. Channi’s comments implied that Amritpal’s imprisonment was an overreach, likening it to an emergency situation.
Amritpal Singh leads the ‘Waris Punjab De’ group, inspired by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. He was arrested on April 23 last year after a month-long manhunt. Singh had evaded arrest in Jalandhar on March 18 by changing vehicles and disguises. The Punjab Police had intensified their search following a violent incident on February 23, when Amritpal and his supporters clashed with police at a station near Amritsar to secure the release of one of his aides, Lovepreet Singh Toofan.
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