Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president and Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal on Friday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid to “immediately” take up the issue of the Quebec province’s proposed move to bring in a legislation to ban turban and kirpan of the Sikhs residing there with the Canadian authorities.
Terming the move as a chain reaction of India’s failure to force the French Government to revoke ban on turban, Sukhbir asserted that a delegation of the SAD Members of Parliament (MPs) would also meet the Prime Minister soon.
He said that the Centre’s timely intervention with Canadian counterpart was imperative to safeguard the rights and interests of Sikhs.
In a statement, Sukhbir stated that it was unfortunate that the Quebec Assembly was deliberately bringing an ordinance to impose ban on wearing turban and kirpan by Sikhs and headgear by Muslims and Jews at public places, schools, colleges and religious places to target minorities which cannot be accepted at any cost.
“This move is extremely against the religious rights of Sikhs in that country where in many provinces the Sikhs are dominating and their mother tongue Punjabi has awarded with the status of Second language,” he added.
Sukhbir added that a delegation of SAD MPs would soon call on Prime Minister and Union Minister for External Affairs in this regard. “Prime Minister, who himself a Sikh, should strongly take up this issue with his Canadian counterpart Stephen Harper, who recently visited Punjab and paid obeisance at Sri Anandpur Sahib,” he added.
He said that the party would also write to Punjabi MPs in Canada to bring the issue in the knowledge of Harper, adding that SAD would soon organize a protest opposite Canadian Consulate opposing this proposal and handover a memorandum to Canadian Ambassador.