Dal Khalsa to hold march to mark Operation Blue Star

Amritsar, May 23

To mark the anniversary of Operation Blue Star, which led to loss of hundreds of Sikh lives in the first week of June 1984, the Dal Khalsa has announced to undertake a Holocaust Remembrance Parade on June 5 in Amritsar.

Addressing a press conference, senior leader Kanwar Pal Singh said that 40 years have passed since the Army attacked the Golden Temple and Akal Takht, bringing the edifice to rubble.

Terming it an unpardonable act committed by the then Central government, he said the Sikhs felt alienated from the mainstream, facing long detentions and sufferings. The Dal Khalsa has resolved to boycott the Lok Sabha polls under the present dispensation.

Taking a dig at the electoral charade of democracy, he said the Punjab problem remained a problem even after 40 years. “There has been a change in political leadership both at the Centre and state. This has not healed our wounds of June 1984,” he said.

The Dal Khalsa slammed the Punjab government for its witch-hunting policies and registering of false cases. Meanwhile, the Dal Khalsa leaders expressed condolence on the tragic demise of Dr Seyed Ebrahim Raisi, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran along with his Foreign Minister. “As people of Punjab, we express our heartfelt condolences to their family and the people of Iran in this time of grief,” he said.