Khattar skips gurdwara visit in Karnal village, Sikhs protest
KARNAL: Tension prevailed in Dachar village of Karnal district as members of the Sikh community held a protest and damaged a fire brigade tender, alleging that chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar cancelled a visit to the village gurdwara on Friday.
The protesters alleged that they were told by the district administration last week that the chief minister will visit the gurdwara in the village at around 1.30 pm on Friday and also partake langar there.
“We were told to remove the statue of Khalistan ideologue Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in the morning, but we refused to do so, saying this could lead to tension in the village. However, the authorities did not inform us that the CM will not visit if we will not remove the statue,” Janpal Singh, president of the gurdwara committee, told Hindustan Times.
“We prepared langar for about 1,000 people, including sugar-free kheer for the CM as instructed by the authorities. But at the last moment, the CM’s visit was cancelled and he left after paying obeisance at a temple near the gurdwara,” he added.
The members of gurdwara committee alleged that several people were waiting for the CM at the entrance of the Sikh shrine. They got agitated when the CM left after visiting the temple, they added.
The protesters later damaged a fire brigade vehicle and also raised pro-Khalistan slogans.
FIR AGAINST 50 PEOPLE
Talking to HT, Nissing police station in-charge Jitender Singh said an FIR has been registered against 50 unknown people.
He said there were no reports of an injury during the protest and the situation was under control in the village. Meanwhile, members of the Sikh community have called a meeting in Karnal on Saturday to discuss the issue.
VISITS 13 PILGRIM PLACES IN KARNAL
During his day-long visit, Khattar visited all the 13 ‘tiraths’ (pilgrim places) in Karnal district and announced Rs 18.39-crore development works at these places.
The works will be carried out by the Kurukshetra Development Board. He also announced to renovate 134 pilgrim places located in Kurukshetra, Karnal, Kaithal, Panipat and Jind districts, which are mentioned in Mahabharata, Ramayana and Vamana Purana.
GURDWARA COMMITTEE SAID CM CANCELLED VISIT AS THEY REFUSED TO REMOVE A PORTRAIT OF BHINDRANWALE FROM LANGAR HALL ; PROTESTERS DAMAGED A FIRE BRIGADE VEHICLE