Amritsar: Amritpal Singh, who is considered to be a radical preacher and sympathizer of Khalistan separatist Jarnail Singh Bhind-ranwale, on Saturday said that calling him a "terrorist is terrorism" itself and said that he works for the people of Punjab and has an influence on the youth "not for wrong, but for right reasons".
Amritpal, who is also the chief of 'Waris Punjab De' organisation, whose supporters allegedly clashed with the Ajnala Police on February 23, said that he has many "political enemies".
In an exclusive interview with ANI, he said that he is against the bigger industries alleging that they are destroying the economy across the country. "I am fighting against bigger industries. The bigger industries are coming to Punjab and destroying the economy not just in Punjab but in every state. They are destroying the local businesses. Privatization is at its peak right now. When I speak against capitalism, these people are my enemies. They own the media houses. They call Amritpal a terrorist. Calling me a terrorist is terrorism, when a person fights against terrorism and has an influence on youth, not for any wrong reasons, but for right reasons," he said. He said that it is very relevant to talk about Kartar Singh Bhindranwale today and said that Punjab is a peaceful state. "It is very relevant to talk about Sant Kartar Singh Bhindranwale today. They are alleging that I took shelter of Guru Granth Sahib. Indira Gandhi (former Prime Minister) imposed Emergency. Section 144 was imposed everywhere. So Sant Kartar Singh Bhindranwale went out and did nagar kirtans, called them juloos. They were walking with Guru Granth Sahib ji. Somebody can say that you are using Guru Granth Sahib against Emergency. But Guru Granth Sahib is our living Guru and we are in its shelter all the time. You can see in the video, the Sangat was in front of the Guru Granth Sahib. When the police started lathi-charge, I got out of my car and went in the front. What happened yesterday is now over. Punjab is not disturbed, but a peaceful state," he said while describing the Ajnala clashes with the police. Amritpal claimed that he fights against drugs and helps youth overcome its addiction.
"Even before yesterday, we were doing 'dharm prachar' and fighting against drugs. We were running many centres in Punjab where youth come and leave drugs. We give them medical facilities. We are providing them with urgent medical attention. We are also trying to resolve the local issues of Punjab which are not able to be solved at the police stations," he said.
Dubbing the FIR against his associate Lovepreet Singh Toofan as the reason for the large protests in which thousands of his supporters demonstrated holding swords and guns in their hands on February 23, Amritpal said that the police should not have arrested Toofan if there was no evidence against him. Toofan was arrested for allegedly kidnapping and thrashing a man.
"Why did this thing lead to such protests? If the FIR didn't have any evidence, they should not have arrested Toofan Singh. Hundreds of police personnel went to his house like he was a terrorist and did not let him wear his turban properly. When we got the news that he was arrested, we contacted them. I told them that they cannot arrest somebody on the basis of the complaint by someone who is not mentally stable," he claimed.
Stating that he enjoys the support of a large number of people, Amritpal said that he is doing the things which Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann should do.
"I have many political enemies. I have a huge number of supporters. Anybody can falsely accuse me of something. The police should not move without an FIR. What the Chief Minister should do, I am doing. It is his state, he should be doing the things. Instead of saying what Amritpal is doing, he should be doing the things. When he said he needs 24 hours to do justice in the sacrilege case, many months passed. Sidhu Moose Wala got killed," he said.
"The people here are peaceful and will remain so until they are harmed and provoked and made to go through injustice," the 'Waris Punjab De' chief added.
He called the violence during the protests in which several police personnel were injured a failure of the system.
"I went to the police station way before the palki came there. It's the system's failure. I will not say it is the failure of the police," he said.
Amritpal further said that the idea of sacredness is different for Sikhs than Hindus and Muslims and stressed that people should not define "sacredness of each other". "The idea of sacredness is very different from that of the Hindus and Muslims. What is sacred for us might not be sacred for Hindus. That does not mean they will define our sacredness. That is happening since 1947. They say you go to the Golden temple with weapons. It's propagated like it has been made impure. But I am asking them, what if I am making it more sacred by bringing weapons there? My Guru asked me whenever you come, make sure to get more weapons on you and come to Gurudwara. That's our sacredness. It's like a Hindu going to the temple and putting 'tilak' on his forehead. Let's not define the sacredness of each other," he said.
Thousands of supporters of 'Waris Punjab De' Chief Amritpal Singh on February 23 staged a massive demonstration in Amritsar to protest against the arrest of Singh's close aide Lovepreet Toofan. The Punjab Police decided to release Toofan that evening after "evidence" was presented before them.
"They have given enough proof that he (detained Lovepreet Toofan) is innocent. SIT has taken cognizance of it. These people will peacefully disperse now and the law will take its own course," the SSP had said.
Notbly, Amritpal's supporters had threatened to disturb law and order in Toofan was not released within 24 hours.
—ANI