After radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh took oath as a member of parliament from the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary constituency in Punjab, his mother, Balwinder Kaur told media that he was not a Khalistani supporter and sought his immediate release.
However, the next day, a statement attributed to Amritpal refuted her claim that he was not a Khalistan supporter. “Indeed, I believe that the statement given by my mother was made unknowingly, but still, such a statement should not come from my family or from anyone who supports me”, the Indian Express quoted him having said, adding, “dreaming of Khalsa Raj is not a crime; rather, it is a matter of pride.
We cannot even dream of stepping back from the path for which thousands of Sikhs have sacrificed their lives”.
Balwinder Kaur, later in a video message, without denying her earlier statement that her son was not a Khalistan supporter, said her statement had been misinterpreted by the media.
Balwinder Kaur’s backing out from her original statement notwithstanding, she did have a point. After all, Amritpal did take an oath and swore his allegiance to the Constitution of India and the unity and integrity of the country.
Till Amritpal remains in jail and is not directly accessible to the media, not everything attributed to him should be taken to be the final word. His parole condition included no interaction with the media. He was allowed only to meet his family members during his sojourn in Delhi.
Given Amritpal’s background and the reasons for his detention under the National Security Act, it is quite unexpected that he may have had a “change of heart” so soon, even after getting elected to the parliament. Even if he had, it would not be so easy for him to express it openly as that might be interpreted as outright surrender.
He did contest the elections, but again he did not make any direct statement or appeal to the voters since he was inaccessible in jail. It was only his supporters, who campaigned for him on the issues he had been raising like drug addiction among the youth.
Apparently, the statement made on Amripal’s behalf in the aftermath of her mother’s statement seeking to dissociate him from Khalistan is aimed at addressing a particular section of people and his supporters, who have started raising questions about him having contested the election at the first place and then becoming an MP and taking oath under the Constitution of the country.
It will not be very easy for Amritpal to justify being an MP and having sworn allegiance to the Constitution of India, just after about a year when he used to say entirely different things. His statement contradicting his mother is thus understandable and must neither be taken at its face value, nor as his final word.
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