Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday slammed the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president for campaigning in favour of the SAD-BSP candidate for the upcoming Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll.
The bypoll is scheduled to be held on May 10 and counting of votes will take place on May 13.
Taking to Twitter, Mann asked how far it was justified that Harjinder Singh Dhami, the president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, an apex gurdwara body, campaigned for the SAD — “a political party which is accused of sacrilege”.
Notably, Dhami, along with the Shiromani Akali Dal leaders and Bahujan Samaj Party leaders, campaigned in favour of their candidate Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi in Adampur in Jalandhar.
Mann, in a tweet in Punjabi, said: “A political party which is accused of desecration of the Guru Granth Sahib…how far is it justified to campaign in favour of that party? Is it not playing with the religious sentiments of people?"
He was apparently referring to the incidents related to the theft of a ‘bir’ (copy) of the Guru Granth Sahib, putting up handwritten sacrilegious posters, and torn pages of the holy book being found scattered in Bargari village of Faridkot during the SAD-BJP rule in the state in 2015.
Simarjeet Bains Announces Support to BJP
A former ally of the AAM AADMI PARTY, Lok Insaaf Party president and former MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains on Sunday announced support to the Bharatiya Janta Party and its candidate Inder Iqbal Singh Atwal in the upcoming Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll.
Both former MLAs, Simarjeet Bains and his brother Balwinder Singh Bains — popularly known as ‘Bains Brothers’ — have been in contact with senior leaders of the BJP regarding their pact for the byelection.
Making it clear that he has not joined the BJP but “extending support to the party candidate in this election, Simarjeet said: “If the BJP asks me to join, I will.”
He added, “We will also back BJP in Ludhiana nagar nigam…LIP will support BJP in 2024 and 2027 as well.”
He said that he was impressed with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policies on Sikhs — right from Veer Baal Diwas to respect to the turban.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken many pro-Sikh decisions such as the decision on the Kartarpur corridor, exemption of GST on langars and to observe Bal Divas to mark the martyrdom day of younger sons of Guru Gobind Singh,” said Simarjeet, who was accompanied by senior BJP leaders, including Union Minister Som Prakash and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.
Targeting AAP, he said that the government made just a year ago, has today degenerated. “Law and order scenario has deteriorated under AAP,” he said adding that it was my heartfelt wish that BJP forms government in Punjab.
Notably, Simarjeet had surrendered before a Ludhiana court on the directions of the Supreme Court on July 22 last year, in an alleged sexual assault case registered on the complaint of a woman, who alleged that she was sexually assaulted by Bains and one of his associates. The case was registered under Sections 376, 354, 354A, 506, 120-B, 376-2(N) and 201 of the IPC. However, he was granted bail on January 25 this year.
The bypoll was necessitated due to the death of Congress MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary in January. The bypoll is going to be a litmus test for the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the state, which will be eyeing a win after it lost the Sangrur Lok Sabha byelection last year.
As for the Congress, the prestige is at stake for the main opposition party, which would like to retain the seat. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiromani Akali Dal, too, will look for a win to boost their fortunes ahead of next year's general elections.
