Amritsar, Aug 21 — The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) on Wednesday reiterated that securing the release of Bandi Singhs — Sikh prisoners who remain behind bars despite completing their sentences — remains its foremost objective, regardless of which political party takes credit.
“It is none of our concern if the BJP wants to claim credit,” SGPC general secretary Kulwant Singh Mannan told reporters over the phone while traveling to Assam for religious events marking 350 years of Guru Tegh Bahadur’s martyrdom. He was accompanied by Akal Takht officiating Jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj and SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami.
Mannan’s remarks came days after Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu said in a TV interview that he would not oppose the release of Bandi Singhs. His comments drew attention given his family’s history — his grandfather, former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, was assassinated in 1995 by Sikh hardliners. Several of the convicts in that case, including Balwant Singh Rajoana, remain imprisoned. Rajoana, a death row convict, continues to be lodged at Patiala Central Jail, with the Centre facing criticism for delaying a decision on his mercy petition.
Political observers said Bittu’s statement could be interpreted as an attempt by the BJP to reach out to Sikh voters ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.
When asked about such political angles, Mannan dismissed them. “The SGPC is guided only by the spirit of ending the long incarceration of Bandi Singhs,” he said, adding that the Sikh body has been pressing for their release for more than a decade “with little success.”
Mannan said the SGPC had repeatedly sought meetings with central leaders to request clemency but had received little encouragement. “Our efforts have been consistent, but the outcome has not been positive so far,” he noted.
