Som Parkash differs with Yogi, state BJP leaders, hails Capt

JALANDHAR : Toeing a different line from his party leaders, Hoshiarpur BJP MP and Union minister Som Parkash on Sunday hailed CM Capt Amarinder Singh for naming Malerkotla as Punjab 23rd district and demanded that the same status be accorded to Phagwara too.

Amarinder’s Eid (May 14) announcement had drawn a sharp reaction from UP CM Yogi Adityanath and BJP general secretary and Punjab leader Tarun Chugh, who described the decision divisive and communal. Reacting to the criticism, Amarinder had slammed Adityanath, terming it an attempt to incite “communal hatred”.

“I congratulate the people of Malerkotla and thank chief minister @capt_amarinder ji for declaring #Malerkotla as a district. It is a rich tribute to the Nawab of Malerkotla Sher Mohammad Khan who protested the execution of the two Sahibzade (younger sons of 10th Sikh master Guru Gobind Singh),” Parkash tweeted.

In another tweet, the minister termed Malerkotla a symbol of communal harmony. People of Phagwara and all parties have been long demanding a district status for Phagwara, he added.

Earlier, Amarinder hit out at the BJP leaders “parroting” Yogi Adityanath’s “provocative” statement on Malerkotla, warning that they are “trying to light the bomb of communal hatred in the state, which will blow up in their faces”.

Further criticising the BJP leaders, the chief minister said their “blatant attempts to drive a communal wedge among the peace-loving Punjabis will backfire on them”.

Malerkotla is a symbol of communal harmony. Same status be accorded to Phagwara too. SOM PARKASH, Hoshiarpur BJP MP