The Jathedar of Sikhs’ highest temporal seat Akal Takht, Gyani Harpreet Singh, on Friday denounced Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s security breach in Punjab’s Ferozepur, terming the incident as “unfortunate”. While denouncing the road blockade by farmers near Piareana village in Ferozepur, leaving the PM’s convoy stuck on a flyover on the Ferozepur-Moga road for 15-20 minutes and forcing PM Modi to cut short his visit, the Jathedar also appealed against blaming the Sikh community at large for it.
“The Prime Minister of the nation is a highly respectable and esteemed personality but whatever happened with him was a matter between the Punjab government and his security staff as well as the Central government as it was a case of absolute lack of coordination between them,” he said in a video statement.
At the same time, it is also highly unfortunate that after the incident the Sikh community was being targeted and held accountable for the blockade, going by what was circulating over the social media, Gyani Harpreet Singh added. “But targeting the Sikh community and holding them responsible for it are not good practices. The government should book all such persons who were spreading hatred,” he said.
Referring to some social media posts, the Jathedar also denounced “some responsible personalities” for blaming Sikhs for the incident. “It is also highly unfortunate and condemnable wherein some responsible personalities in the society are issuing threats to the Sikh community, saying that incident of anti-Sikh riots that occurred in 1984 could be repeated once again,” the Jathedar said.