Bid to create communal rift will be dealt with strictly, says Amarinder
FATEHGARH SAHIB : Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has said that his government will not tolerate any attempt to create a rift between communities.
In an informal interaction with media persons on the second day of the 3-day Shaheedi Jor Mela, he added, “The Sikh religion propagates communal harmony. The peace for which 10th Sikh Guru Gobind Singh ji’s youngest sons, Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh, and his mother, Mata Gujri, gave the supreme sacrifice will be maintained at all cost.”
Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib, located 5 km north of Sirhind where the Sahibzadas were killed on December 26, 1705, is a revered Sikh religious site. The Shaheedi Jor Mela remembers the supreme sacrifice of the sons and the mother of the 10th Sikh Guru.
To a question on the recent vandalisation of a statue of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the CM warned the Akalis against repeating such incidents, and pointed out that there were statues of several senior Akali leaders in various parts of the state. “My government will protect each and every one of these statues too, just as it is committed to protecting the statues of senior leaders of other political parties,” he added.
On the Akalis dragging the Gandhi family into the 1984 antisikh riots case, the CM said, “Rajiv Gandhi was not even there when the violence erupted. Sukhbir Singh Badal was studying in the United States and Bikram Singh Majithia was studying somewhere in the state at the time of the riots.”
“They were not even in the know of the developments, which they are now trying to exploit in the name of religion to gain political mileage,” he claimed, adding that the Akalis were indulging in petty politics and trying to disturb harmony between communities. “No one will be allowed to peddle politics of hate,” he added.
On Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s proposed political rally at Gurdaspur on January 3, the CM added he had been holding such rallies in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls. “The state Congress leadership is fully geared to once again wipe out the Akali-bjp alliance from Punjab,” he claimed.
‘HAPPY THERE ARE NO CONFERENCES’
Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who paid obeisance at the historic Gurdwara Fatehgarh Sahib and partook of langar as well, expressed his happiness that no political conference was taking place during the Mela. “This is not an ocassion for such rallies. Lakhs of people who have congregated for the Shaheedi Jor Mela come not to listen to political speeches, but to pay their respects to Guru Gobind Singh ji’s martyred sons, whose sacrifice could never be forgotten,” the CM added.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) general secretary and MP Prem Singh Chandumajra, however, slammed his party for not holding a political conference on the Jor Mela. “SAD is a panthic party. It should hold a conference to remember the sacrifice of the martyrs,” he said, adding he would ensure that the party organised a political conference next year.