Radical preacher Amritpal Singh fails to take oath as MP

Chandigarh: Radical preacher and Khadoor Sahib MP-elect Amritpal Singh could not take oath as a member of Parliament as he is in jail in Assam, detained under the National Security Act.

Twelve other MP-elects from Punjab were administered oath in Parliament on Tuesday. Punjab has 13 Lok Sabha constituencies.

After the Congress' Gurjeet Singh Aujla took oath in Parliament, Singh's name was called out but he was not present.

Similarly, Engineer Rashid, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Baramulla and is lodged in Delhi's Tihar jail in a case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), could not take the oath on Monday.

Singh wrote to the Punjab government on June 11, seeking temporary release from detention to take oath as an MP, according to his counsel.

Tarsem Singh, the radical preacher's father, said the family has no information on the government's response to the letter.

Singh, the chief of the 'Waris Punjab De' outfit, is currently lodged in Assam's Dibrugarh jail along with nine associates under the NSA.

He had contested the Lok Sabha elections as an independent and polled 4,04,430 votes. He defeated Congress candidate Kulbir Singh Zira by a margin of 1,97,120 votes.

Recently, Singh's detention was extended by a year from April 23. The Punjab government had issued the extension order on June 3, a day before the Lok Sabha election results came out.

Singh, who styled himself after slain Khalistani militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, was arrested in Rode village in Punjab's Moga on April 23 last year following an over a month-long manhunt.

The Khalistan sympathizer had escaped the police net in Jalandhar district on March 18, switching vehicles and changing appearances.

Singh and his associates were booked in several criminal cases related to spreading disharmony among classes, attempt to murder, attack on police personnel and creating obstructions in the lawful discharge of duty by public servants.