Attempts are being made to divide country on communal lines: Amarinder Singh

Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and his wife and MP Preneet Kaur at the Gurdwara Ber Sahib in Sultanpur Lodhi on Monday. (Express photo)

WITHOUT TAKING names, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday said there has been attempt to divide the nation on communal lines.

Speaking at a religious gathering at Dera Baba Nanak during the closing ceremony of the 550th Prakash Purb celebrations, Amarinder said, “There have been attempts to divide the nation on the lines of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs.

Guru Nanak Dev ji had said that there is neither any Hindu nor Muslim and all are children of one god. Then why are you dividing the country. For what purpose? Why are you creating a divide between religions?”

He further said, “The nation will be stronger if are all united. They must consider it. I don’t want to go into history. But we know our neighbour countries. They want to create disturbance. No day passes when I don’t read news about a Sikh soldier being killed on the border.”

“These youngsters are sacrificing their lives everyday for our country and we must ensure that their sacrifice is not wasted. Country needs to grow stronger. But this new trend of breaking country and dividing religions is too wrong and as soon as this trend will die, country will get stronger. Also, the enemies showing eyes to us will go away,” said the CM.

He said Punjabi soldiers like Gurtej Singh had made the supreme sacrifice and killed 12 Chinese soldiers in the recent clashes at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Claiming that the MSP and arhtiya system was the backbone of Punjab’s successful agricultural model, with farmers and arhtiyas sharing a very close bond, the chief minister questioned the need to change the established system. “Will the corporates who would take the place of the arhtiyas ever care to help farmers in times of crisis?” he asked.

Amarinder said Guru Nanak had attached great significance to the small farmers, who constitute the bulk of Punjab’s farming community, with 75 per cent of them holding less than 5 acres of land. “It is these very farmers who would be ruined by the black agricultural laws enacted by the Union government,” he said, adding that it was against these legislations that the farmers were currently protesting at Delhi borders and braving the harsh winter cold, the Covid threat and the brutality of Haryana police.

On the Kartarpur Corridor, the chief minister said it was time for the Centre to open it, since even Pakistan had done so.

Prashant Bhushan attends event

Delhi-based human rights activist and lawyer Prashant Bhushan also attended the function with Amarinder.

Speaking before the CM, Bhushan praised the Sikh community: “Sikhs stand for the prosecuted communities. Be it the anti-CAA protests or Rohingya refugee crisis, the Sikhs stood with the oppressed and even provided langar. The concept of seva is great in Sikhism.

This was what Guru Nanak taught us. It is also a reason that Sikh farmers are participating in farmer protests in large numbers. I salute their patience. They have assured to remain non-violent even in adverse situations,” said Bhushan.

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