Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Wednesday ruled out any possibility of allowing Sikh radicals to hold ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ (congregation of Sikhs) at Talwandi Sabo, scheduled for Thursday, apprehending law and order situation in the State.
“A handful of self-styled leaders are hell bent upon holding Sarbat Khalsa for hatching conspiracies to derail the process of development and peace in the State and push it back to turbulent times,” he alleged.
“The State Government cannot not allow these divisive forces to hold Sarbat Khalsa as it could jeopardise the law and order situation in the State,” Badal told the reporters on the sidelines of his Sangat Darshan programme at Tohra village.
He said that his Government was committed to preserve the law and order at any cost besides strengthening the social fabric and maintaining peace, communal harmony and brotherhood.
Meanwhile, the police continued its crackdown on radicals across the State by taking them in preventive custody to prevent any law and order problem, the officials said.
On the objective of Moga rally on Thursday, Badal said that its theme ‘Save Water, Save Punjab’ aimed to sensitise the people about the gravity of the Sutlej-Yamuna link (SYl) Canal situation besides exposing the alleged black deeds and anti-Punjab stance of Congress leadership on the inter-State issues, especially the river waters from day one.
He alleged that Congress had always betrayed Punjab and its people on every matter, be it political, social, economic or religious and said the SYl issue was an outcome of the party's apathetic attitude towards Punjab.
“We don't have a single drop of spare water to share with anyone and nor there is any question and neither there is any need for the construction of SYl canal,” he said.
The Chief Minister cautioned the people to beware of the alleged nefarious designs of Congress leadership which, he claimed was shedding crocodile tears over SYl issue by tendering resignations as a drama just to garner mass support ahead of the Assembly polls in 2017.
On any possibility of granting interim relief to the Government employees in the wake of sixth Punjab Pay Commission, Badal said that the state government would take a final call after due deliberations with the current Pay Commission.
Regarding Vigilance raid on Engineering College at Jalalabad run by the family of SAD MP from Ferozepur Sher Singh Gubaya, Badal said that he was unaware about it, though he asserted that Gubaya was just like a family member and party had not at all any differences with him.