Aggrieved and worried over the Sikh protests in several parts of Punjab after alleged incidents of Guru Granth Sahib’s sacrilege, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday appealed to the people to remain vigilant and guard religious institutions to thwart any attempt by “inimical forces” to disturb peace. Badal also appealed to all the political parties to join hands for thwarting any such attempt of pushing State back to the turbulent times. The appeal came after five-time Chief Minister expressed his deep pain and anguish over the alleged incidents of desecration of holy book in the State, at Akal Takht the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion on Saturday in Amritsar.
“I appeal to all Punjabis to be vigilant against those who try to disturb peace in the state by indulging in the heinous act of sacrilege of holy book and guard religious institutions in the state for 24 hours,” Badal said in an appeal, which appeared in the newspapers and also telecasted on Doordarshan on Sunday.
Expressing pain at the alleged incidents of sacrilege of holy book, Badal said that such heinous act had deeply wounded the psyche of every member of the peace loving community. He said that the sacrilege incidents taking place in Faridkot (Bargari village), Tarn Taran (Bath village) and Ferozepur (Nazushah Mishri village) were part of a “deep conspiracy”.
“The proof of such heinous act is that these incidents occurred at one time and in a similar fashion,” Badal said. The State Government is committed to expose these forces and give exemplary punishment to those guilty of this unforgivable act, he noted. , Badal added that the state had suffered a lot socially, politically and economically during the turbulent times and once again some fissiparous forces were trying to bring back those days in the state.
GOVT MUST EXPlAIN REASONS TO REMAIN IN POWER: JAKHAR
Congress legislature Party (ClP) leader Sunil Jakhar on Sunday asked the SAD-BJP government to “explain the reasons”, in Punjab Vidhan Sabha, to staying in power in the State. “It is a Government without governance,” alleged Jakhar. Targeting the entire SAD-BJP leadership, Jakhar demanded a special session of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha urging the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to explain to the people of Punjab the reasons as to “why the SAD-BJP combine is unabashedly hanging on to power while anarchy prevails in the state”.
Jakhar said that the law and order situation have almost collapsed in the state to an extent that the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and their entire Cabinet of Ministers was seemingly under house arrest in Chandigarh. “None of them has been able to muster courage to go and face the people who are sitting on the streets of Punjab. As Punjab seethes with anguish over the blasphemous desecration of the holy Guru Granth Sahib, government is confined to issuing appeals only,” he said.
SAD SlAMS BAJWA, CAPT, JAKHAR FOR POlITICISING SERIOUS SOCIO-RElIGIOUS ISSUE
Shiromani Akali Dal on Sunday strongly condemned the statements of Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa, former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and the ClP leader Sunil Jakhar on sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib exhorting people for social boycott of Akalis saying that they are trying to politicize a serious socio-religious issue for petty political gains.
“It is shameful that all these Congress leaders have tried to gain political mileage out of an issue which has hurt the sentiments of the Punjabis in general and Sikhs in particular. Such blunders of Congress are responsible for turmoil in the past and these leaders are now trying to repeat the same,” said SAD secretary and Education Minister Daljit Singh Cheema.