The pro-Khalistani Sikh leader Amritpal Singh, who recently got into a violent altercation with the Punjab Police after the arrest of his close aid, Lovepreet Toofan has cleverly tried to avoid answering why his ilk never demand a separate Punjab inside Pakistan.
“Now,” he has claimed, that the Khalistan movement is not “limited to India alone,” his organization will take it “across the border” as well.
#EXCLUSIVE: Amritpal Singh speaks to India Today.
— IndiaToday (@IndiaToday) February 23, 2023
Says, "Once we will make Khalistan here, we will go for #Lahore too. Khalsa will rule everyplace we were ruling."
Watch #IndiaFirst, full show with @gauravcsawant: https://t.co/wG7rvnvoud#ITHighlights pic.twitter.com/kfGJNPMOkM
Talking to the news channel, India Today, Amritpal stated, “Britisher’s divided Punjab,” which according to the separatist leader was a country. “We chose India in 1947 and accepted ourselves as Indian citizens,” he added.
He complained of not getting a state on linguistic grounds. “We didn’t get Punjab until 1966. Then, it was divided into Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Chandigarh is currently disputed.”
On being asked, why don’t they make any such demands for Khalistan in Lahore, which was the original capital of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, he replied, “We are demanding Khalistan in India, because this is our country.”
Amritpal asserted, that they will take their movement to Pakistan after they succeed in establishing Khalistan in India. “Once we make Khalistan here, we will go to Pakistan. Khalsa will rule every place it did before (during the time of Maharaja Ranjit Singh).”
He alleged that his real effort is to resurrect Sikhi (Sikh religion) which will in turn revive Khalsa Raj, which actually stands for Khalistan.
He did not clarify what does he mean by ‘resurrecting Sikhism’ because Sikhism as a religion has been flourishing and growing in India, in contrast to Pakistan where non-Muslims are persecuted and in Afghanistan where Sikhs had to be rescued by the Govt of India and brought to India in special planes to save their lives.
According to him, he is not breaking any law. “India is a democratic country. The Punjab Police will abide by the written commitment they have made. Otherwise, nobody will believe the police. We won’t have any more faith in them.”
He was questioned whether he will challenge them (the police) any more? “Why would I,” he asked, “if they won’t bring false accusations against me?”
Amritpal Singh is the current chief of ‘Waris Punjab De,’ founded by late actor-turned-separatist Deep Sidhu.
Yesterday, on February 23, a large group of his followers who were armed with lathis, swords and firearms stormed the police station to protest an FIR that had been filed against him and some of his cronies.
Amritpal had also issued a covert threat to home minister Amit shah, saying, “Amit Shah will have the same fate as Indira Gandhi,” on Deep Sidhu’s death anniversary.
