Sukhbir sees ‘sacrilege’ in order to play hymns to ‘drown out voice of Punjabis’

🔴 Sukhbir was talking to mediapersons after attending road-shows and rallies in favour of party candidates Daljeet Singh Cheema in Ropar and Sunita Rani in Balachaur.

• By: Express News Service
• Chandigarh | December 11, 2021 10:52 AM IST
3 min read

Sukhbir, who lost from Jalalabad, chaired the meeting, which was not attended by veterans Nirmal Singh Kahlon, Tota Singh and Balwinder Singh Bhunder. (File)

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal Friday said Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi cannot suppress the voice of Punjabis “crying for justice” by resorting to actions “including giving orders to play ‘gurbani’ loudly”. Sukhbir said such a move “smacked of sacrilege”.

Sukhbir was talking to mediapersons after attending road-shows and rallies in favour of party candidates Daljeet Singh Cheema in Ropar and Sunita Rani in Balachaur.

The SAD president said it was “shocking that a CM, who professed he was ready to listen to each and every one, was now not only running away from the people, but was using the civil and police machinery to stifle their voices”.

He said, “The CM had also committed a sacrilegious act by giving orders that the ‘gurbani’ be played loudly at all places visited by Channi to down slogans being raised against him. Punjabis will not forgive him for using such foul tactics to stifle the voice of the people.”

Notably, in a bizarre order to all deputy commissioners, police commissioners and senior superintendents of police, the Special Protection Unit (SPU) of Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi Thursday had asked them to put in place DJs playing gurbani shabad/religious songs so that “slogans raised by different protesting organizations are not heard” during the programmes of CM in respective districts. After a political backlash, the orders were withdrawn within hours yesterday, citing “clerical mistake”.

Sukhbir also came down heavily on Channi for “refusing to order a probe into the accusations of crores being received by home minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa to post SSPs as well as SPs and DSPs”. He said it was “condemnable that despite the fact that cabinet minister Rana Gurjeet Singh had made this accusation on record in a cabinet meeting, no probe had been ordered into the corruption case. It is clear that the chief minister chose to become a party in the case and is trying to push it under the carpet”. He demanded “a high level probe into the entire incident as well as registration of a criminal case against all those involved, including the home minister”.

Meanwhile, addressing the rally, Daljeet Singh Cheema said, “Both the Congress government as well as the AAP legislator had not done anything for the people of Ropar. Grants received for various works were returned during the Congress regime.”

Speaking at the rally in Balachaur, Sukhbir declared that the next SAD-BSP alliance government would order a probe into the misuse of MNREGA funds, and all Congress MLAs and sarpanches responsible for wrongdoing would be proceeded against.

In another announcement, he said: “A separate Kandi Area Development ministry would be established for overall redressal of its residents. The SAD is mulling over creating a special quota in jobs for Kandi area residents, considering their financial condition”.

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