Punjab’s former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday asked Justice Ranjit Singh (retd) to vindicate the dignity of his profession by recusing himself from the “utterly-politicised” Commission set by “the anti-Sikh, anti-Punjab” Congress party’s government in Punjab to play with the sentiments of the Sikh masses on the pretext of inquiring into incidents of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib.
“I request you not to be a party to the anti-Sikh agenda of the Congress party and the government formed by it in Punjab. I request you instead to uphold the dignity of the judiciary and to stand by the Sikh quom and recuse yourself from the chairmanship of the Commission,” said Badal in his reply to a notice received from the Commission.
Badal said that he and his party would “most willingly” assist any independent Commission headed by a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court to expose the sinister design behind acts of sacrilege of the holiest of the holy Guru Granth Sahib and also of other places of worship.
He emphatically stated that the truth behind “the deeply painful series of incidents of sacrilege” needed to be exposed, and “the gravity and the sensitivity of the issue demanded that this must not be handled casually and the momentous task be handled at the highest level through the appointment of a Commission headed by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court”.
“I urge you also to lend your voice to the voice of the community by recusing yourself from this commission and supporting the community’s demand that the matter be probed at the highest level by a sitting judge of the Apex Court in the country,” he said.
He added that we oppose the attempts of the Congress party to misuse the august name of the judiciary to promote its petty anti-Punjab and anti-Sikh agenda.
“The purpose of the Commission is to give a legal cover to the political design of the Congress to cause confusion among the Sikh masses by falsely blaming the Sikhs organizations and institutions themselves for the most tragic and painful acts of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib,” said Badal.
He said that the report of the Commission stood prepared even before the constitution of the Commission or at best, immediately after its constitution and the report is merely to be formally signed now. “As such, I and my party see no reason to be a part of this sham exercise,” he said.
Badal, in his letter, pointed out to Justice Ranjit Singh that he was “appointed by the government of a party which has its hands soaked in the blood of thousands of innocent Sikhs and who ordered tanks to be rolled into the holiest of the holy shrines of mankind, Sri Harmandar Sahib.
“In the most tragic and brazen army assault on the Darbar Sahib Complex, hundreds of sacred saroops of Sri Granth Sahib were not only desecrated but even cruelly destroyed. However, I and my party and the Sikh quom have full faith in the judiciary and hold it in the highest esteem,” he said.