Patiala: Union Minister of State for
External Affairs Preneet Kaur on Friday said that the names of
those allegedly involved in militancy in Punjab were deleted
from the 'blacklist' keeping in mind the country's security
concerns.
"We don't compromise with our security concerns while
deleting and reviewing the names of Sikhs from the black
list," she told reporters here.
She said that the Union Home Ministry with the
consultations of Punjab government has been able to reach on
the decision to delete the names of 142 Sikhs from the black
list.
Only 27 names are still on the list. However, it was the
duty of state home department to keep the union home ministry
updated.
With my constant efforts Union Home Minister P
Chidambaram has agreed to delete the names of Sikhs from the
black list in two phases.
"When I joined UPA government two years back, first
thing I did was to take up this matter with home ministry,"
she said.
She lauded the role of the president of Delhi Sikh
Management Committee Paramjeet Singh Sarna for regularly
following the case with the ministry.
The names have been deleted in two phases after a review
of 169 cases in consultation with the Punjab Government and
security agencies.
While 25 names were deleted in August last year, 117
names were deleted last month.
She expressed her gratitude towards UPA president
Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and especially
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for clearing maximum numbers
of names from the black list.
Among those removed from the blacklist by the Union Home
Ministry are Lakhbir Singh Rode, nephew of slain militant
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and chief of International
International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF).
PTI
First Published: Friday, May 27, 2011, 21:03