Storming of Punjab police station: Mann: Those who use Guru Granth Sahib as shield can’t be waris of Punjab
Till now, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led government in the state maintained silence on the issue of Amritpal’s inflammatory speeches.
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This is Mann’s first reaction on radical Sikh leader Amritpal. (file) IN HIS first comments on Waris Punjab De’s new leader Amritpal Singh Sandhu, who along with his supporters stormed the Ajnala police station near Amritsar on Thursday to secure the release of an arrested associate, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on Saturday that those who use the Guru Granth Sahib as a shield cannot be called the “waris (heirs)” of the state.
Police said Amritpal and his supporters had used the Palki Sahib of Guru Granth Sahib as a shield to break barricades on Thursday. “The demonstration was permitted… (but) under the cover of Palki Sahib of Sri Guru Granth Sahib, police were attacked in a cowardly manner,” Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav had said on Friday.
Without naming Amritpal, Mann tweeted in Punjabi: “Those who use Guru Granth Sahib as a shield do not deserve to be called the waris (heirs) of Punjab.”
This is the AAP government’s first remarks on the radical Sikh preacher ever since he started his activities in the state. Earlier, party sources had said it was part of their strategy to not give him importance by engaging with him.
Party sources said Amritpal’s “own mistakes” may cause his downfall. “He may have appealed to some youths in the state, but he created circumstances for the people to oppose him when he removed chairs from a gurdwara. He did not realise that many elderly and physically challenged, who cannot sit on the floor, need the chairs… His action was not seen in a good light,” said a party leader.
Similarly, his decision to take the Guru Granth Sahib to Ajnala police station has been widely criticised, said sources. “Everybody, including SAD leader Bikram Majithia and Sukhbir Singh Badal, have said it is sacrilege. It is becoming a narrative in the state. Do you realise how big an issue the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib is in the state,” said a party leader.
An AAP leader said its government had faced criticism and allegations of going “soft” on Amritpal. “If the police had taken action against him, he would have become a martyr, a revered leader, and a larger-than-life character. The inaction was the need of the hour,” he said.
“Had the police taken any action, everybody would have criticised the police. That could not be done. It was a decision taken very patiently,” said another AAP leader.
“Police acted with utmost restraint due to the maryada of Guru Granth Sahib and preserved it. Had police opened fire, it would have led to more issues. We have acted with restraint on account of the presence of the holy Guru Granth Sahib,” DGP Yadav had said on Friday.
Amritpal’s associate, Lovepreet Singh, arrested in a kidnapping case, was freed on Friday.
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