Expressing serious concern, Punjab Congress on Thursday urged the Narendra Modi government at the Centre to ensure safety of the Sikhs settled in Kashmir as they were under fear psychosis.
“The supporters of the militants in the valley are harassing the Sikhs and forcing them to raise anti-national slogans,” demanded the Congress legislature Party (ClP) leader Charanjit Singh Channi, adding that these Sikh families have been living in the valley since generations and had never complained till now.
Channi said that the neglect by the Union Government and no initiation by the Badal government on this matter clearly prove their anti-Sikh stand among the people of the nation.
He urged Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to separately take up this issue with the Modi government as the Akali Dal was in alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party. “Such a sensitive issue must be handled at the level of the highest level in the government at the Centre,” he said.
Channi appealed to the Shiromani Gurudwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief to immediately send teams to the affected areas, meet the families and stand besides them in this hour of difficulty. This is the duty of the SGPC to safe guards the interests of the Sikh families, he said.
“With the situation continuing to deteriorate since the killing of militant leader Burhan Wani, even these Sikh families spread over about 70 villages but concentrated in 39 of them were becoming target of the anti-social elements,” he said while expressing apprehension that this might be a part of design to force the Sikhs to leave the valley like Kashmiri Pandits as part of the ethnic cleansing operation.
He pointed out that the Sikhs were perhaps the only minority left in Kashmir and in case such forces pushed them out, it would amount to raising a question mark over the authority of the Centre itself.
“The Rajya Sabha, yesterday, resolved to have an all-party meet on Kashmir. A delegation must be deputed to the Sikh areas to instill sense of security among these families. At the same time, special security arrangements must be made for their protection as going by the report, the security forces seem to have abandoned these areas,” he suggested.