Damdami Taksal seeks removal of ‘terrorist’ tag on Bhindranwale in Maharashtra school textbook

CHANDIGARH : Both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had made business interests of the Badal family their main poll plank. But after coming to power, chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has taken the “no-political vendetta” line, leaving ministers and Congress MLAs with the feeling that the government is not doing enough to bring down the business empire of the Badals.

Local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu has launched a tirade against Fastway, the company that enjoyed monopoly over cable business in Punjab under Badals’ patronage. The Congress government has also approved the new transport policy to end the “monopoly of Badal buses”.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday broke his silence on it by saying the CM was “not in command” of the government.

Sukhbir said Sidhu and finance minister Manpreet Badal, more than the CM, were competing to “make headlines”.

“Sidhu and Manpreet are in a succession battle to dethrone Amarinder. I don’t see this government lasting five years. Sidhu thinks Fastway is owned by me. We have no links with Fastway. I am 100% shareholder of PTC (group of channels). From buses to hotels, every business is in my name and various agencies have scrutinised it,” he told HT on the sidelines of the voting for the Presidential elections.

He added, “I only have a fleet of 150 buses. Others are small bus operators, owning two to three buses. They will hit livelihoods of small operators to hit Sukhbir. All my bus permits are legal. I own PTC, but our government did not pay a single penny to it for running government ads,” Sukhbir added.

At the last cabinet meeting, many ministers wanted action against Badal buses and Sidhu had raked up Fastway’s alleged tax evasion. The CM has ruled out censorship on Fastway or PTC.

‘SIDHU HAS STOPPED DEVELOPMENT’

Sukhbir claimed Sidhu has stopped all development work. “He stopped the water bus on the Harike Lake. Sidhu has also stopped the Amritsar BRTS. Every development work that we sanctioned has been stalled. They are being vindictive against people of Punjab, not Sukhbir,” he claimed.

The choicest of his barbs were reserved for estranged cousin Manpreet Badal.

“My brother thinks he can cut costs by cutting down on tea and samosas. He had fought with my father (former CM Parkash Singh Badal) to be the finance minister. He speaks of diversion of Central funds. How much money he diverted to his former assembly seat Gidderbaha, when he was finance minister in our government.”

‘MINISTERS SPEAK IN DIFFERENT VOICES’

On why his attacks were more targeted at Sidhu and Manpreet and not the CM, Sukhbir denied there was a “tacit understanding” between him and Amarinder to not go after each other. “The CM has no command on the government. All his ministers are speaking in different voices. Proposals are approved and not implemented,” he claimed.

‘FARM LOAN WAIVER TO BE NEMESIS OF CONG’

Justifying his party’s move to corner the government on farm debt waiver and not on sand mining auctions during the budget session, Sukhbir added the farm loan waiver would prove to be the “nemesis” of the Congress.

“The CM announced the loan waiver during the budget session. His finance minister (Manpreet) says he has yet to get details from the expert group. Does the government think farmers commit suicides due to crop loans? Only those with good track record of paying crop loans get fresh crop loans. The government has made defaulters out of good, paying farmers and will cripple the state’s agricultural credit system,” Sukhbir added. AMRITSAR: Taking strong exception to description of militant preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale as a “terrorist” in the history textbook of Class 9 in Maharashtra, the Damdami Taksal has written to the Devendra Fadnavis government seeking removal of the “misleading” tag.

Damdami Taksal is a Sikh seminary, which was headed by Bhindranwale before he was killed in the Operation Bluestar conducted by the army in June 1984 at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, where several militants were holed up.

In a letter to chief minister Fadnavis, Taksal chief Harnam Singh Dhumma said, “We have received complaints along with the copies of the extract from the ‘History & Political Science’ textbook of class IX on Page number 6 and 10 in which your department has mentioned Sant Jarnail Singh Ji Khalsa Bhindranwale as a terrorist.”

Seeking a ‘clarification” in this regard from the chief minister,

Amarinder is issuing statements without knowing the facts, be it farm loan waiver or growth in revenue. A CM must give responsible statements. SUKHBIR BADAL, SAD president

the letter says, “We request your good self to interfere in this sensitive issue so that this matter is brought to a righteous (sic) end at the earliest.”

The Taksal has also written similar letters to Maharashtra education minister Vinod Tawde and director of the Maharashtra State Bureau of Text Book Production and Curriculum Research, Pune, Sunil Magar, drawing their attention to the matter.

“We strongly condemn this wanton and irresponsible act by your department for disseminating sensitive information to impressionable minds of school students that would put the Sikh community in poor light and spread hatred specifically against the Sikh students in Maharashtra,” the letter reads.

Dhumma also sought to know “the source of information, which could be considered as reliable enough and verified by your department, on the basis of which this sensitive information is included in the Class IX syllabus.”

In a media release wherein he attached copies of his letters to Maharashta chief minister and the education minister, Dhumma said the Damdami Taksal has demanded a written reply from them within 15 days of the receipt of this besides withdrawal of “objectionable material” and stop its further circulation

Dhumma added, “If they fail to provide the required information on time, we will be compelled to take the matter to the court.”

He said the Damdami Taksal has also constituted a committee of Maharashtra-based Sikh leaders to take up the case with the state government on a priority basis.

SIKH SEMINARY CHIEF WRITES TO THE FADNAVIS GOVERNMENT, THREATENING TO TAKE THE MATTER TO COURT IF IT DOES NOT RESPOND WITHIN 15 DAYS OF RECEIVING HIS LETTER › the society, he added. letter,

There are three judgments of the HC, asking the state govt to take tangible steps to break the truck unions’ monopoly for the larger good of the society. CAPTAIN AMARINDER SINGH, Punjab chief minister