Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday warned that his government will not tolerate any attempt to create a rift between communities and will deal with anyone trying to disturb the state’s secular fabric with an iron hand.
In an informal interaction with mediapersons on the second day of the three-day Shaheedi Jor Mela, he said that the Sikh religion propagated communal harmony, which nobody would be allowed to disturb.
Recalling the supreme sacrifice of Sikh tenth master, Guru Gobind Singh’s youngest sons — Sahibzada Zorawar Singh and Sahibzada Fateh Singh, and his mother, Mata Gujri, Capt Amarinder said that the peace for which they laid their lives would be sustained at all costs.
Responding to a question on the recent vandalisation of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s bust in Ludhiana, Capt Amarinder warned the Akalis against repeating such incidents while pointing out that there were statues of several senior Akali leaders also in various parts of the state.
“My government would protect each and every one of them too, just as it is committed to protecting the statues of senior leaders of other political parties,” he said.
Referring to the frustrated attempts being made by the Akalis to spread communal hatred by fanning the flames of 1984 riots and dragging the Gandhi family into the case, the Chief Minister said that Rajiv Gandhi was not even there when the violence erupted.
It was evident that the Akalis were indulging in petty politics and trying to disrupt the harmony between communities, said Capt Amarinder, adding that he would not allow anyone to indulge in such politics of hate.
In response to another query regarding the Prime Minister's proposed political rally at Gurdaspur on January 3, the Chief Minister said that Narendra Modi was holding such rallies in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls. “But, the state Congress leadership is fully geared to once again wipe out the Akali-BJP alliance from Punjab,” he added.