CHANDIGARH: Punjab saw three rallies of the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Aam Aadmi Party (SAD) in which Panthic issues were at the centre stage on Sunday.
Notably, the Congress and the SAD held their rallies at the backyard of their rivals -
Lambi, the constituency of former chief minister and Akali patron Parkash Singh Badal, and Patiala, the home town of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.
At the Lambi rally, CM Amarinder Singh targeted the Badals for the sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib in 2015 when the SAD-BJP government was in power.
Amarinder accused the Badals of blatantly lying on the Bargari sacrilege case and the police firing.
“The former CM claims to have slept through the entire episodes, though the then DGP had already exposed the lie before the Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh Commission. How could a minister not know about such an important development?”Amarinder asked, pointing out that the DGP had spoken to Badal at 2 a.m. that morning and had also spoken with the IG 22 times.
Alleging that the SAD-BJP combine took no action on the sensitive Bargari, Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura incidents, Amarinder said his government had established the Commission and initiated the legal process to take action against the guilty.
In Patiala, the Badal father-son duo returned the fire at the ‘Jabar Virodh’ rally, saying the Congress failed to deliver on its tall promises, including loan waiver, and eradication of drugs.
“The Khalsa Panth will never allow the enemies of the Sikh, the Congress party, to grab the Sikh Gurdwara Sahiban and preside over the destiny of the Sikh heritage,” Parkash Singh Badal said
He reiterated that all sacrilege allegations were a part of ‘deep-rooted Congress conspiracy’ to control Gurdhams for securing a clean chit to Operation Blue Star. “Amarinder Singh himself publically announced his intent to control Sikh shrines.”
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed the ‘real demons’ were those who committed sacrilege at Bargari.
“If anyone was mortified at this development, it was the SAD. The Congress used it to launch a defamation campaign against us and is still teaming up with elements, which are using the Panth’s name to earn money.”'
Meanwhile, AAP held a protest march from Kotkapura to Bargari in Faridkot to protest against the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and the police firing in October 2015 on those protesting against these incidents.