AMRITSAR: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday cautioned the people of Punjab against ‘certain forces’ that are bent upon vitiating the atmosphere of state.
While addressing a gathering of farmers at Golden Gate, the entry point of Amritsar, Sukhbir alleged that attempts are being made to turn the farmer agitation into a Sikh versus Hindu conflict.
Without naming anyone, he said a senior leader of his party had informed him that in Delhi the BJP had allegedly started spreading the word among its cadres that "this fight was of Hindu and Sikhs", adding that "the forces behind this move want to replicate it in Punjab".
As they (BJP) have won the elections by pitting Hindus against Muslims, now they are trying the same in Punjab, he alleged.
"Punjab has passed through a very tough phase, but even in those days there was no conflict between Hindus and Sikhs," he said. "Let BJP do anything, Khalsa panth will protect communal harmony, it’s our promise, promise of Punjabis," he added.
Stating that if Punjab has to prosper, peace and communal harmony must be ensured in the state, Sukhbir said, "SAD is committed to maintaining peace and communal brotherhood".
The SAD chief also attacked the NDA government of which his party was a part till sometime back, saying that the central government had not only struck out against federalism but also freedom to protest. "Things have taken such a turn that if one was in agreement with the central government he is a ‘desh bhakt’, but if one speaks out against it, he is branded as a ‘desh drohi’. Is Harsimrat Kaur Badal who resigned from the Union ministry in protest against the three agri-laws a desh-drohi? Can anyone term Parkash Singh Badal who returned his Padma Vibhushan in solidarity with farmers be a desh drohi?" he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Harsimrat said that she had forewarned the government that no laws should be finalized without taking into account the concerns of farmers. "Farmers are agitating today because their views were not taken," she said, adding that the farmer's agitation would continue to swell and wouldn’t not end till MSP was made a statutory right.