Flaying forced religious conversions across the country, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Saturday described them as ‘unfortunate and against the basic tenets of ‘Sikhism’ because Great Sikh Gurus always opposed these conversions tooth and nail.
Giving his view on the raging debate after reports of conversion in some parts of the country, the septuagenarian Punjab Chief Minister said Sri Guru Teg Bahadur even preferred to sacrifice his life than succumbing to the Mughal tyranny and oppression for forceful conversions of Hindus into Muslim fold.
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of the State-level martyrdom function of the Chotte Sahibzadas Baba Zorawar Singh and Fateh Singh and Mata Gujri here, the Chief Minister said that Sikhs have never accepted forceful religious conversions because the entire Sikh history was replete with several episodes where our great Gurus and valiant Sikh warriors never bowed to the pressure exerted by the mighty rulers.
He recalled that this historic day was also observed as a martyrdom day as tenth master, Guru Gobind Singh even sacrificed his entire family for the sake of well being (chardi kala) of the Sikh panth.
Badal, however, said that the great Gurus have always preached the lesson of oneness of God and all the religions were equal in the eyes of the Almighty hence such religious conversions perpetrated by anyone were even against the very spirit of humanity and thus it has no place in our State.
On the controversy surrounding the involvement of some politicians in the drug cases, Badal expressed dismay over the deliberate attempts by the political opponents to target Punjab.
He said it was on the record that Punjab was the only State in the country, which had taken several bold initiatives to take the menace of drugs by establishing a network of drug de-addiction centres and rehabilitation centres to detoxify the drug addicts and subsequently to rehabilitate them in the main stream so as to enable them to lead a life with dignity and pride.
He targeted the Central Governments, earlier UPA and now NDA, over their failures in perpetuity to check the free flow of drugs and narcotics from across the international borders, which was under the control of Central Government agencies like BSF.
Badal cited an example of how 85% of heroin was being smuggled from Afghanistan to Punjab via Pakistan, which was further supplied in different parts of world. “How can the State Government be held responsible for drug trafficking from international border in Punjab due to sheer complacency of the part of the Centre” he added.
The Chief Minister also impressed upon the Union Government to issue directives to the States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh where narcotics like opium, poppy husk and others were freely sold in the open market.
He also welcomed the initiative on the part of national BJP president Amit Shah to launch a campaign against drugs in the State adding he said that the scope of this campaign to bring awareness against curse of drugs amongst the people should be far more widened upto Kanyakumari to make India a drug free nation.
Badal said he would love to participate in this campaign provided he was extended an invitation from BJP. At the same time, he underscored the need to fight out drug menace through a time bound joint strategies involving the State, Centre and people with a missionary zeal sans politicking on this sensitive issue any more.
The Chief Minister said Sikhs were a martial race and have remained in forefront to uphold the ethos of peace, unity, communal harmony and national integration but unfortunately they have been branded as terrorists, separatists and secessionists by the political parties in power from time-to-time to tarnish their sanguine identity, which was not only undesirable but must be condemned by one and all.
In his address Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said SAD was the only party which was committed to give due respect to every religion besides giving representation to the members of different religions and castes at the party and government level to elicit their full participation in the governance, to which he termed the true concept of ‘inclusive development’.
On the drug menace, he said they would soon call on the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister for seeking their direct intervention in sealing the borders to check the free flow of drugs from across the international and national borders besides issuing advisories to the respective State Governments to ban the supply of drugs and narcotics in the open markets.
He said Punjab was waging a national battle against drugs which should not merely confined to the geographical contours of the State and hence the Government of India should envision this problem in a broad perspective to tackle it efficaciously and extended fulsome support and cooperation to the Centre to combat this menace in the larger public interests.