They could not take oath as members of the 18th Lok Sabha on June 24 and 25 along with the other winning candidates.For taking oath, Rashid was granted a two-hour custody parole, excluding the travel time from Tihar to Parliament, and Singh a four-day custody parole, beginning July 5, in view of the travel from Assam to Delhi and back.Their parole orders stated that during their period of temporary release, they can neither speak to or address the media on any issue or make any statements.Their family members also cannot make a statement in any form of media.While Singh, a Khalistani sympathiser who heads the ‘Waris Punjab De’ outfit, has been allowed to meet his family in Delhi, Rashid’s family had permission only to attend his oath taking.The parole for Rashid, who has been in jail since 2019 after his arrest in 2017, was granted by a court in Delhi and that of Singh by the district magistrate of Amritsar from where he was arrested in April 2023 for barging into a police station in February and clashing with police personnel in a bid to free one of his aides from custody.Both Singh and Rashid are to be accompanied by security personnel at all times during their parole periods, the orders stated.The Delhi Police and Punjab Police were directed to coordinate with the secretary general of the Lok Sabha for procedures inside the Parliament complex.
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