Punjab CM praises Punjabis for maintaining peace

Tribune News Service

Sanjeev Singh bariana

Chandigarh, April 23

Addressing the media after the arrest of pro-Khalistan activist Amritpal Singh, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today thanked the people of Punjab for maintaining peace and harmony in the state.

Will not allow hatred in state

Amritpal ran an organisation that provoked youth to pick up arms and indulge in illegal activities. We will not allow seeds of hatred to bloom in Punjab. Bhagwant Mann, Chief Minister

“I am thankful to three crore people of Punjab for standing together for peace. We did not witness any incident that could destroy peace and stability,” he said.

“The individual who attempted putting the youth on a wrong path has been arrested. Amritpal Singh ran an organisation that provoked youth to pick up arms and indulge in illegal activities against the country. We will not allow seeds of hatred to bloom in Punjab,” the CM said.

“He was arrested without firing a single bullet today. There was a deep rooted conspiracy to disturb peace, amity and brotherhood in the state, but we have arrested all key players. We could have arrested Amritpal on March 18, but we did not want any bloodshed,” he said.

The CM said he knew about the operation to arrest Amritpal since Saturday. “I was taking information from the officials concerned every 15 minutes. When Amritpal attacked the Ajnala police station taking shield of Guru Granth Sahib, I directed the police to ensure that there was no disrespect of Guru Granth Sahib. Some police personnel were injured in the incident, however, our force did not allow any untoward incident to occur during the hour of crisis,” he said.

He said, “Punjab has fertile land and anything can germinate on it, except seeds of hatred and animosity.” He also recalled the enormous contribution of Punjabis in the freedom struggle, making the country self-reliant in food production, ushering in green and white revolutions along with defending the borders of the state.

AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal praised Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and said the AAP government was committed to maintaining peace and security in the state. “Our government is ready to take tough decisions to maintain this hard-earned peace,” he said.

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