BJP repeating Congress blunders of dividing Sikhs and Hindus in Punjab: Akali Dal

CHANDIGARH, Punjab—The Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) today stated that BJP-led centre government is repeating Congress blunders of divide and rule by dividing Sikhs and Hindus in Punjab and asked its former ally to shun this exercise. Akali Dal also repeatedly placed “national unity” above everything in the resolution passed during its core committee meeting held on Thursday.   

 “Do not repeat Congress blunders of divide and rule. Do nothing that weakens national unity or disturbs the peace and communal harmony for which Punjabis, especially the SAD, have made supreme sacrifices,” says a Resolution of the Core Committee of the party.

The resolution expressed deep concern and anxiety over “ominous signs of a deep conspiracy to divide Hindus and Sikhs and farmers and traders”. 

“This is an anti-national conspiracy and the SAD will fight against it with all the resources at its disposal. Farmers’ agitation is a people’s movement which is a totally peaceful, democratic and secular movement. This was visible in the all-round support to the Bharat Bandh lent by every section of society”, said the party. 

The party urged the Government of India not to take any reckless or repressive steps that might deepen festering emotional wounds in the farmers’ minds and weaken the sacred cause of peace and communal harmony in India.

The meeting was presided over by SAD president Sukhbir Badal. Giving details of the meeting to the media, Harcharan Bains, Principal Advisor to Badal said that the SAD will observe the centenary of the party as “Sangharsh Samarpan Divas” for Sarbat da Bhala, with a focus on Kisan interests and justice for them.

 He said, “The SAD will fully safeguard peace and communal harmony in Punjab and the rest of the country at all costs and will expose and defeat every conspiracy against these ideals. The party is convinced that no progress in the country is possible without Peace, communal harmony and national unity,” said Bains, adding that unfortunately ‘some people are not happy over this prevailing peace and harmony’.

Asking the government not to be stubborn or stand on prestige against the annadata of the country, the SAD resolution asked “If the government is willing to change every clause of the old Acts, then why is it standing on prestige to revoke them After all, if you are conceding all demands of the farmers, why not put it all in the new Act and end the debate once and for all?”

The party said, “The deep-rooted conspiracy is being hatched to paint the movement of the patriotic farmers in communal and separatist colours. The movement is not only peaceful and democratic but also totally secular and nationalist and patriotic. The sons of a large number of the agitators are right now defending the borders of the country against China and Pakistan. They come from families that have shed blood in the defense of the country in all the wars including 1948, 1965, 1971, the Kargil war, and now in Galwan in Ladakh. Only a few days ago, the young son of the farmers from Taran Taran sacrificed his life fighting the Pakistani attempts at the intrusion on the LoC in Kashmir”.

The party which remained in alliance with the saffron party for 28 years without any gap, alleged that the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh is playing a “traitorous role” to weaken the movement in “secret” alliance with the Government of India. “He kept holding secret meetings with those in power at the center and his only input has been to try and cause divisions. Strangely, the CM of a predominantly agricultural state has no word of advice for the center as Captain telling the farmers only to be responsible”, it said.