Thaindian News

Chandigarh, May 12 (IANS) Acting on the repeated pleas of the Punjab government, the central government has removed 142 names out of 169 on the ‘black-list’ of Sikh NRIs banned from entering India, an official said Thursday.

“Only 27 names now remain on the black-list. The Punjab government wants no discrepancy on names removed through mutual consultations between the state and the central officials,” a state government spokesman said.

The black-list issue had been hanging fire for a number of years with the Punjab government and the ruling Akali Dal urging the central government to remove names from the list of Sikh NRIs linked to or sympathetic to terrorists and other separatists seeking a separate Sikh homeland, Khalistan (land of the pure).

Reacting to the central government’s acceptance of the demand, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal Thursday demanded that all the details, including the names of the remaining people, should be put on the official website of central home ministry to eliminate any further exploitation of Sikhs in the matter.

“There should be an automatic mechanism for periodic review of these lists. While those facing criminal charges should be brought before the law, there should be no harassment of the innocents,” Badal said.