Punjab: Dal Khalsa lambastes Sukhbir Singh Badal

Hoshiarpur, Nov 20: Radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa today hit out at Punjab Deputy Chief Minister's claim that they and other Sikh groups were responsible for disturbing the communal harmony, adding that the minister's "politically managed" move to pardon Dera Sacha chief has put the state on boil.

"Instead of owning up his own socio-political follies that vitiated the peaceful atmosphere of Punjab, Sukhbir Badal was trying to point fingers towards others," Dal Khalsa head HS Dhami and spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh said.

They also hit out at the Deputy Chief Minister for clubbing them together with the opposition Congress. The leaders said that the turmoil in the state was caused by the state government's failure to expose the hidden forces and the design behind the sacrilege incidents and denial of justice to victims of police firing.

Refuting all allegations levelled by Sukhbir on holding 'Sarbat Khalsa' (congregation of Sikhs) on November 10 at Amritsar, the outfit said it was an open secret that they were neither a part of the congregation, nor do they subscribe to its resolutions.

The leaders warned Sukhbir to "stop throwing muck" on them and rather "change his feudal mindset" as it was not only damaging his personality but the reputation of Akali Dal too.

"The crowd at the November 10 congregation did not belong to any particular political shade but were general masses who assembled to air their resentment and send a stern warning to the rulers that they should stop taking Panth for granted," the outfit stated.

The Deputy Chief Minister had recently said that the people rejected by the masses of Punjab through ballot were trying to create divisions within the Sikh community under the garb of 'Sarbat Khalsa'.

PTI