Washington, May 22: The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has almost scrapped the ‘blacklist’ of overseas Sikhs. The list denied some overseas Sikhs an Indian visa. A Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) General Secretary Ram Madhav informed Sikh community members in Washington about the Indian government’s decision to done away with the list.

The blacklisted NRI Sikhs are banned from visiting India because of their alleged ties with Khalistan movement in the 80s and 90s. The security agencies prepared the list. The Sikh Community in the United States had shown discontent with the Indian government over the denial of visas to the Sikhs mentioned in the ‘blacklist.’

"We have almost done away with the most inhuman blacklist, which used to deny the community their right to visit India, the right to visit Harmandir Sahib, right to meet with their relatives, near and dear ones," Ram Madhav told a congregation of Sikhs at one of the oldest Gurdwaras of Maryland in a suburb of Washington DC. The BJP general secretary further added, "The (black) list has been almost completely removed. Only a few individuals remain (on the list). Those names will also go.”

Early this year, several Sikh Gurdwaras in the US had banned entry of Indian government officials. According to a report published in The Times of India, the Sikh Coordination Committee East Coast (SCCEC) and American Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (APGC) had claimed that 96 gurdwaras in the United States have resolved to ban the entry of Indian officials. A large number of Gurdwaras had later denied such a move. Fourteen Gurudwaras in Canada had also imposed a ban on Indian government officials' entry.

Madhav said that the government had approached the Supreme Court to cancel anticipatory bails of those who had led the 1984 anti-Sikh riots so that they can put behind bars. The riots claimed the lives of more than 3,000 people.

(With inputs from PTI)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 22, 2018 05:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).