Accusing the Capt Amarinder Singh led Congress Government of “conspiring” to weaken Sikh institutions including the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) by supporting the idea of a separate Gurdwara body for Haryana with the sole of fulfilling anti-Sikh agenda of the Gandhi family, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal on Friday demanded immediate withdrawal of State Government’s additional affidavit filed in the Apex Court in this regard.
Sukhbir, who led the SAD-BJP delegation to Punjab Governor VP Singh Badnore for the same, said that during the Bhupinder Singh Hooda Government in Haryana, an attempt was made to interfere in Sikh affairs by proposing the idea of the separate Sikh body in the State.
“But the then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh assured us that no such attempt would be entertained as he understood the sensitivity of this matter because his ancestors had also made great sacrifices for establishment of the SGPC — a Sikh body for the management of Sikh shrines,” he said.
He said that later, however, Dr Singh showed his helplessness as Sonia Gandhi decided to constitute a separate Sikh body for Haryana.
A joint delegation of the SAD and BJP leaders requested the Governor to direct the State Government to “immediately withdraw” the additional affidavit filed by it in the Supreme Court which supports the Haryana Government by saying that the state assembly of Haryana is competent to enact a law after the Sikh Gurdwara Act, 1925.
It also demanded a high-level judicial inquiry to expose the conspiracy of the Congress Government to jeopardize the interest of the Sikh community and the apex body for the management of Sikh shrines.
Terming the State Government’s stance on the issue of a separate Gurdwara management body for Haryana as the “biggest betrayal with interests of the Punjab and Sikh community”, Sukhbir said that at the behest of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, Capt Amarinder had changed Punjab’s stance on this very sensitive issue while filing a fresh affidavit in the Supreme Court.
“This is akin to the second attack orchestrated by the Gandhi family on the Sikh community after it attacked our holiest shrine-Sri Harmandir sahib with tanks and mortars in 1984,” he added.
BEHBAL KALAN WITNESS DEATH: REMOVE AND REGISTER CRIMINAL CASE AGAINST KANGAR, KIKKI DHILLON
SAD-BJP joint delegation also urged the Governor to direct the State Government to immediately register a criminal case against the Cabinet Minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Advisor to the Chief Minister Kushaldeep Singh Kikki Dhillon and Congress leader Manjinder Singh Dhillon for causing death to former Sarpanch Surjit Singh, who was a prime witness in the Behbal Kalan firing incident.
The combine also demanded Kangar and Kushaldeep Dhillon’s removal from the Cabinet and the post of Advisor to Chief Minister, respectively.
“The prime witness of Behbal Kalan firing incident was mentally tortured and humiliated at the behest of the Congress leaders who wanted to stop him from disposing as a witness in the case in order to save accused police persons,” alleged Sukhbir.
He added that Kangar and Dhillon used one way or another to deter Surjit Singh from giving testimony against the culprits by mentally harassing him through the PSPCL officials by imposing heavy penalties as well as insulting his family members including ladies.
SAD chief said that it was shocking that despite all efforts, including a meeting with the Chief Minister, made by Surjit Singh’s widow to expose conspiracy behind his husband’s death, the State Government had not initiated any high-level independent inquiry into the incident.
The SAD-BJP delegation also demanded full proof security to Surjit Singh’s family as well as all the witnesses of the sacrilege cases. It also demanded strict action against all the officers who did not take proper and timely action on the applications of Surjit
Singh.
BJP’s senior leader Madan Mohan Mittal said that not providing protection to a prime witness of a very important case proved the malafide intent of the present Congress government. “Instead of protecting the witness, Congress Ministers harassed and humiliated the witness with the sole aim of protecting the culprits. This is unwarranted,” he added.