Punjab government on Wednesday released a statement hinting at the fact that it was willing to negotiate with protesters who have been camping at the Mohali-Chandigarh border since January 7 to demand the release of Bandi Singhs — Sikh prisoners who had completed their jail terms but were still languishing in prisons. The organisers of the protest, on Thursday, while welcoming the government's move of softening its stand, stated that their protests will continue for now. Notably, the morcha had on Wednesday decided to suspend sending the 31-member delegation, which used to visit the Mohali-Chandigarh border daily in an attempt to enter the UT and march towards Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann's residence with their demands. Gurcharan Singh, one of the organisers of the morcha told The Indian Express on Thursday that they were keeping an eye on all the developments and for now had decided to not suspend the ongoing protests until the government took a concrete step in addressing their demands. “We have seen in the past that governments make promises and then fail to keep them later. The release of Sikh prisoners is our primary demand, along with justice in the sacrilege incidents. Until the government takes some concrete steps to meet our demands we will not end our protests,” Gurcharan Singh said. The government on Wedesday assured the protesters that it would seek legal advice on the plea of shifting all cases related to Jagtar Singh Hawara to a Mohali court. It was decided that the decision on this will be taken before March 31. It was also decided at a meeting between the morcha organisers and the government on February 26 that the authorities will soon present challan in the court regarding Behbal Kalan firing incident.
