The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
Amritpal Singh to fight polls as Independent, says lawyer
WARIS PUNJAB De Head Amritpal Singh, currently lodged in Dibrugarh jail in Assam under the National Security Act, will contest parliamentary elections from Punjab's Khadoor Sahib Lok Sabha seat. Amritpal’s counsel Rajdev Singh Khalsa confirmed to The Indian Express that he would contest as an Independent from the Khadoor Sahib seat.
“I am in Dibrugarh today. I met Amritpal Singh. He has confirmed to me that he will contest elections from Khadoor Sahib,” the counsel said. However, Amritpal's father Tarsem Singh said, “Nothing is confirmed, as yet. I will comment only after meeting him.”
“We have no information about Amritpal’s decision to contest the election. His wife met him recently and no such issue came up. The family is going to meet Amritpal on April 25. Any decision on his contesting elections will only be taken af ter consultation with Sangat,” a relative of Amritpal said.
According to sources, a mainstream party is considering extending support to Amritpal.
Lawyer Jaspal Singh Manjhpur, an expert in UAPA cases, said, “Anyone who is not convicted can contest the election. Any under- trail can contest the election. There is no bar on contesting elections until one is convicted. Also, if an upper court suspends one’s sentence, he can contest the election.”
Amritpal, who styled himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was arrested in Moga's Rode village on April 23 last year following a more than one- month- long manhunt. The Punjab Police had launched the crackdown after the February 23 Ajnala incident last year in which Amritpal Singh and his supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and barged into the police station on the outskirts of Amritsar city, and clashed with police for the release of Lovepreet Singh Toofan, one of his aides.