Following Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh's surprise election victory in Punjab's Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha constituency, his lawyer on Wednesday said the central and state authorities would be forced to provide him relief.
Rajdev Singh Khalsa, who represented the jailed Singh while seeking bail, highlighted Singh's efforts to combat drug abuse in Punjab. Khalsa outlined the legal strategy going forward, highlighted pursuit of bail for Singh and expressed confidence that public support would compel both the BJP and AAP governments to provide relief, newswire ANI reported.
“The government will have to provide them with relief because there is no alternative; the government will be forced to do so, both the BJP government and the AAP government. Amritpal Singh made Punjab drug free. The people have approved that his arrest was illegal and immoral,” Khalsa said ANI.
Khalsa criticized the circumstances of Singh's arrest, orchestrated by Bhagwant Mann's government, labeling it unfair and claiming that the portrayal of law and order issues and Hindu-Sikh tensions was false.
After his victory in the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat, Singh's wife and lawyer visited Dibrugarh jail on Wednesday to meet him. Singh secured a significant lead with 4,04,430 votes, while his nearest rival, Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira, polled 2,07,310 votes.
Amritpal Singh was arrested by the Punjab police in April last year, weeks after he evaded police and the stringent National Security Act was invoked against him.
In the 2019 elections, Jasbir Singh Gill of Congress won Khadoor Sahib. The 2024 contenders included Manjit Singh Manna of BJP, Laljit Singh Bhullar of AAP and Virsa Singh Valtoha of Shiromani Akali Dal.
In the highly competitive 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Congress retained its seven seats in Punjab, which was equal to its previous tally. The BJP saw poor turnout, failed to win seats in Punjab and lost five seats in Haryana, where it had earlier won all ten seats.
The BJP almost doubled its vote share in Punjab but could not retain the two seats it won in 2019. In Haryana, the party lost half its seats and 12 percent of its vote share to the Congress.
The Election Commission of India announced the results for 542 of the 543 Lok Sabha constituencies, with the BJP winning 240 seats and the Congress 99. This marked a significant drop for the BJP from 2019's 303 seats and 282 seats won in 2014.
The Congress grew significantly, winning 99 seats, compared to 52 in 2019 and 44 in 2014.
(With inputs from ANI)
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Published: Jun 6, 2024 09:50 IST
