‘I dare Captain to show new book with old chapters’

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The state government doesn’t believe in God and that’s the reason behind the deletion of chapters on Sikh history. SUKHBIR BADAL, SAD president

CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday challenged Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to produce before the media copies of the Punjab School Education Board’s new history book for Class 11 to prove his claim that chapters on Sikh history had not been deleted, but had merely been shifted from the syllabus of Class 12 to Class 11.

“I dare the CM to share with everyone the new book containing all the old chapters on Sikh history today itself before his officers try to deceive the people by getting a new book printed to hide their mischief in deleting Sikh history from the syllabus,” he said in a statement here.

Sukhbir was referring to Captain’s rejoinder to the allegation of the SAD about deletion of chapters on Sikh history from the Class 12 syllabus.

The CM had claimed that no chapters had been expunged from the board syllabus and that some chapters had been been shifted from Class 12 to Class 11 to align the syllabus with the NCERT’S guidelines.

Describing the CM’S denial as “totally erroneous and misleading”, Sukhbir said that Amarinder should have ordered an inquiry into the issue.

DUBS AMARINDER GOVT ‘AGNOSTIC’

Replying to media queries on the issue in Amritsar on Sunday, Sukhbir said the state government consists of “agnostic persons”.

Sukhbir said ministers of the state government don’t believe in God and that’s the reason behind the deletion of chapters on Sikh history. He also said that local government minister Navjot Singh Sidhu once termed the Virasat-e-khalsa as white elephant. “What we can expect from such a government?” he asked.

AAP SEEKS PROBE

Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday sought a highlevel probe into the issue.

Terming it a disrespect to the Sikh Gurus, it asked the Congress government “to correct the mistake without any delay”.

In a joint statement, seven AAP MLAS hit out at “the move of the PSEB to remove the chapters related to the history of Sikh gurus and their teachings, Anglosikh wars, Baba Banda Singh Bahadur, the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Sikh struggle against Mughals”.

CAPT SHOULD APOLOGISE: SGPC

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) said the deletion of Sikh history chapters reflects the “anti-sikh approach” of the state government. In a press release issued here, SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal said Capt should apologise and order an inquiry into the matter.