Punjab CM deputed 4-member team to leave for Shillong

Concerned over reports of security threats to Dalit Sikhs in Shillong, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has decided to rush a four-member team, headed by cabinet minister Sukhjinder Randhawa, to Meghalaya’s capital.

The team will make a ground assessment of the situation in the troubled areas of Shillong and extend all possible help to the Sikh community there, an official spokesperson said on Sunday.

The CM has directed the team, which has MPs Gurjit Aujla and Ravneet Bittu and MLA Kuldip Singh Vaid as its other members, to leave for Shillong on Monday morning.

Amarinder has sought Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma’s cooperation in facilitating the team’s visit, and ensuring their access to the areas from where reports of tension or trouble are coming in, said the spokesperson.

Amid reports of simmering tension, the CM has also urged Sangma to provide full protection and safety for the Sikh community and their religious institutions in the state, said the spokesperson.

The CM’s decision to send a team to Shillong was triggered by reports that despite Sangma’s personal assurance, the situation was still not under control and had the potential of escalating further, said the spokesperson.

Amarinder has offered all possible help to the Meghalaya government in ensuring the security of the Dalit Sikhs, whose ancestors were reportedly brought to Shillong during the British era. The CM said, if necessary, the Centre should intervene to defuse the communal tension in which the Sikhs in Shillong are caught.