NEW DELHI:Thousands of Sikhs in election-bound Punjab will likely cheer a Prime Minister's Office driven move to scrap a 32-year government blacklist that banned India visits by Sikh NRIs from 212 families. The blacklist was put in place by a Congress government after Operation Bluestar in 1984 and the Kanishka bombings in 1985. A home ministry spokesperson said he had no comments.Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's visits to the UK and Canada had seen several representations from Sikh NRI groups asking for reconsideration of the India travel ban. Officials said the proposal to remove the ban was opposed by the Intelligence Bureau . But following several visa denials over the years, Sikh NRI groups started voicing opposition to what they described as systematic discrimination.

Source: Economic Times August 17, 2016 19:16 UTC