News Brief
Simranjit Singh Mann’s Twitter Bio Edited After Win From Sangrur, Reference To Khalistan Removed — And Then Restored
Swarajya Staff
Jun 27, 2022, 05:42 PM | Updated 05:41 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
A known votary of the Khalistan movement, Simranjit Singh Mann was elected to Parliament from Sangrur, Punjab in a recently held by-poll. The seat vacated by Chief Minister of Punjab and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, Bhagwant Singh Mann, went into Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)’s kitty with Simranjit Singh Mann defeating the AAP candidate Gurmail Singh by 5,822 votes.
Bharatiya Janata Party, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) failed to save their security deposits.
Simranjit Singh Mann’s controversial views on the Sikh separatist movement, Kashmir as well as Hindus are well known. In fact, until he won the Sangrur by-poll, his Twitter bio read: “President, Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar), 2 times MP, won with the highest margin of voters in 1989, striving for #Khalistan (sovereign state for Sikhs).”
However, he deleted his previous bio, where he clearly mentioned his ideological leanings, antithetical to the national interest.
However, the original bio was found restored after a few hours.
In an interview with ANI, Simranjit Singh Mann credited his win to the teachings of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, a Khalistani terrorist. He said that the Indian government cannot harm the Sikh community the way they “demolish the houses of Muslims or conduct army atrocities in Kashmir”. He also claimed that tribals of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Bihar are labelled as “Naxalite” and killed by the state.
His win has raised concerns about rising Khalistani forces within Punjab and has the potential to destabilise peace in the state. It has come as a huge setback to AAP, which had won the seat twice before. Unable to counter the growing anger of the masses, the three-month-old AAP government in Punjab looks, increasingly weak and directionless.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.