142 out of 169 names deleted from Sikh NRI blacklist, claims state govt
Friday, May 13, 2011
The Union government has deleted 142 names of Sikh NRIs on the dreaded "black list", which had 169 names in all.
Claiming this here on Thursday, a statement by Punjab government read: only 27 names now remain on the list while the state government wants "any discrepancy on the names removed through mutual consultations between the state and the central officials."
The issue of the black list has been a sore point with many NRIs who have been routinely stopped from visiting India on grounds that they had taken part in anti-India activities following the Army operation on Golden Temple in 1984.
Claiming that they had fulfilled a major poll promise by getting 142 names deleted, SAD government on Thursday said the list should be "regularly reviewed and the names on it should be made public and the unjust denial of access to common and innocent NRI Sikhs should stop". The Union government`s earlier refusal to do so had become a major source of harassment and exploitation of Sikhs, many of whom were denied access to the country even though their names did not figure on the list.
Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal demanded that the details, including the names of the remaining persons on the list, should be put on the official website of the ministry of home affairs (MHA) to eliminate any further exploitation of Sikhs.
A government spokesman claimed that the centre`s decision was a result of several review meeting between Punjab and Union government besides recommendations of central and state security agencies. The issue of revision of the black list was raised by CM Parkash Singh Badal in the All India Chief Ministers` Conference on internal security in New Delhi on February 7, 2010. Delhi high court had also asked the government to consider the matter expeditiously.
Following the meetings, the Union government sent a CD containing details of the persons on the black list which was reviewed by Punjab government. It was recommended that "those booked for terrorist activities should face the law of the country and the names of all the rest who did not have any criminal cases against them should be removed from the list".
