Shiromani Akali Dal asks Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann to apologise to Sikh sangat for ‘insulting’ Akal Takht

Chandigarh, March 29

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to apologise to the Sikh Sangat for insulting the highest temporal seat of Sikhism – Sri Akal Takht Sahib as well as its Jathedar –Giani Harpreet Singh.

Addressing a press conference here, senior SAD leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema also asked the chief minister to seek forgiveness from the supreme temporal seat for filing a complaint to remove a tweet of the Jathedar Sahib from social media besides accusing the latter of inflaming passions. “Everyone knows the opposite is true. Jathedar Sahib convened a meeting of intellectuals and political leaders to discuss the state crackdown against innocent Sikh youth. Respecting the sentiments of the ‘sangat’ an ultimatum was given to release the innocent youth within 24 hours. Instead of respecting this religious directive, the chief minister chose to not only insult Jathedar Sahib but also previous Jathedars of Sri Akal Takht Sahib besides politicising a case which was essentially one of human rights abuses,” said Cheema.

Dr Cheema said it was a fact that the state government was forced to release a large number of Sikh youth who had been arrested on trivial charges. He demanded that all pending cases against the youth who had secured bail following the recent crackdown should be withdrawn. He also demanded a stop to state repression against youth, intelligentsia, artists and media persons.

Asserting that the chief minister was defaming Punjabis in league with the central government, Dr Cheema said the current politics of polarization was aimed at taking Punjab back to an era of darkness. Asking the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to desist from this divisive politics, the Akali leader alleged, “It is clear to Punjabis that all this is being done to divert attention of the people from the utter failure of the government on all fronts be it law and order, managing state finances, undertaking development works or extending social welfare benefits to the weaker sections of society.”