Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh Monday said the Badals can’t wash their hands of the Bargari and other sacrilege cases with their desperate attempts to seize the limelight in the historic 550th Prakash Purb celebrations of Sri Guru Nanak Dev.
“Evidently the Badals have not learnt any lessons from their total rejection by the Sikh community for their failure to prevent the various cases of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib, as well as firing and killing of peaceful Sikh protestors under their watch,” Amarinder said during an informal chat with mediapersons after attending the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected MLAs here at the Vidhan Sabha Monday.
Pointing out that the Akalis had been rejected by the Sikh Sangat in every election in the last three years, Amarinder said Union Minister Harsimrat Badal had barely managed to scrape through in this year’s Parliamentary elections. The people had seen through their gimmicks and frustrated attempts to exploit religion for petty political gains, he added.
“It was unfortunate that the Akalis, under Sukhbir Badal and his wife and Harsimrat Badal, were trying to divide the Sikh community while celebrating the biggest unifier the world had seen in Guru Nanak, who worked for inter-faith harmony and dialogue,” said the Chief Minister.
Amarinder also lashed out at the SGPC for “making a virtual mockery” of the 550th Prakash Purb celebrations by playing into the hands of the Badals.
“Such major events had always, traditionally, been celebrated under the aegis of the state government, but the SGPC, at the behest of the Akalis, had refused to support the government’s programmes this time,” he said
Reacting to SGPC charges of inadequate efforts by the state government to ensure befitting celebration of the occasion, the CM said all preparations for the grand celebration were in place, and Punjab was fully geared up to make this joyous occasion a lifetime experience for the pilgrims.
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