Clarify party stand on Punjab CM’s remark against Radha Swami Dera head Gurinder: Partap Bajwa to Kejriwal

Leader of Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha, Partap Singh Bajwa, on Wednesday has asked AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal to clarify the official stand of the party on the remarks regarding Dera Radha Soami head Gurinder Singh Dhillon made by CM Bhagwant Mann on his ‘X’ account.

After meeting Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia at Patiala Jail, the dera head had said charges against Majithia were “false and baseless”. This attracted a remark from the CM, who in a veiled attack at the spiritual leader, wrote on X, “God save those courts where those coming to visit the incarcerated become judges.”

A day after the BJP and SAD criticised the CM for a veiled attack on the dera head, Bajwa said he was deeply pained by the Chief Minister’s comment, which had hurt the religious sentiments of lakhs of followers and devotees associated with saints and spiritual institutions, including followers of Dera Beas in India and abroad. He said such remarks are alien to Punjab’s cultural and spiritual ethos, where saints, seers and spiritual leaders have always been held in the highest reverence.

Bajwa’s statement came even as most senior Congress leaders are desisting giving statement on the controversy. “Speaking for the dera head will mean supporting the Akali Dal. Supporting the CM’s stand will mean annoying the dera followers,” said a senior PPCC member.