Amit Shah praises the Punjab government in response to the Amritpal Singh crackdown: ‘He was free to go, however…’

Amit Shah, the Union Home Minister, lauded the Punjab administration for doing "good work" in cracking down on Amritpal Singh and his organization. Days after Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma lauded his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann for the action against fugitive pro-Khalistani leader Amritpal Singh and his outfit ‘Waris Punjab De’, Union home minister Amit Shah also praised the Punjab government for doing a “good job” in the matter. “The Punjab government did good work. The Centre is also cooperating,” Shah said at India Today's Karnataka Roundtable 2023 on Saturday. When asked why the Waris Punjab De chief is yet to be arrested, Shah replied, "There is no Khalistani wave in Punjab… We are monitoring the situation very closely. No one can attack India's unity and sovereignty. This may happen some time (his arrest). Earlier, he used to roam freely, but now he can't carry on with his activities." On March 18, the Punjab Police had launched a massive crackdown against Amritpal and the members of his 'Waris Punjab De' outfit. While several of his associates, including his mentor-cum-aide Papalpreet Singh, have been arrested, Amritpal is still at large. On Thursday, the radical preacher's wife Kirandeep Kaur was stopped from boarding a flight to London at the Sri Guru Ram Dass International Airport here. She was questioned by the immigration authorities and some other officials for more than three hours and thereafter, asked to return along with some relatives who had come to see her off at the airport. Singh married Kaur, a UK-based Non-Resident Indian, on February 10. Shah also said the Narendra Modi government wouldn't tolerate attacks on Indian high commissions. "We have made the NIA that capable that they can probe if there is any conspiracy against India on foreign soil. Delhi Police registered a case and launched a probe and a report from the Indian High Commission was also received. Based on that, we have handed the probe to the NIA," the home minister told the news channel. On March 19, a group of Khalistan supporters demonstrated outside the Indian High Commission in London, sloganeering with flags and posters of Amritpal Singh. The posters, with Singh’s photo, said “FreeAmritpalSingh, WeWantJustice, WeStandWithAmritpalSingh”.