In his Facebook post, Sidhu claimed credit for climbing on top of the 370-year-old monument to fly the flag, clarifying that the national flag was neither insulted nor taken down. “To symbolically register our protest against the new farm legislation, we put up the ‘Nishan Sahib’ and a farmer flag and also raised the slogan of Kisan Mazdoor Ekta,” he said.
The National Intelligence Agency also lodged an investigation into his connections with Khalistani groups. A few months into the case, he was killed in a road accident. Earlier this year, Amritpal Singh was anointed the head of Waris Punjab De at a ceremony held at Rode in Moga district, the native village of slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
His followers vandalised chairs and set them on fire in a Jalandhar gurudwara, since he believes that the use of chairs and other facilities inside gurudwaras is against the maryada (code of conduct) of Sikhs.
Sidhu is dead but the issues he had flagged remained. And new ones were added to these. “It all began with the farm Bills. They (the Central government) promised that they would give the farmers a minimum support price. They did not, and it was a betrayal. And then they shoved crucial issues under the carpet — like releasing those who had completed their jail term for sedition. People are rotting in jail for 30-32 years. They have released Rajiv Gandhi’s killers … they have released Bilkis Bano’s rapists. But not those who have completed their prison terms,” said an Akali Dal leader and former Rajya Sabha MP who did not want to be named.
The Akali Dal is convinced that Waris Punjab De and Amritpal Singh are part of a bigger plan to create a law and order problem in the state, leading eventually to the imposition of Central rule and even the exclusion of Punjab from the Lok Sabha polls as was done in 1991.
“The Aam Aadmi Party is completely inept. The CM has to await instructions from Arvind Kejriwal in dealing with these kinds of problems. The Centre is so quick to lodge Enforcement Directorate investigation against ‘criminals’ in politics. Why isn’t it investigating the source of funds of Waris Punjab De and Amritpal Singh? Why has he not been detained?” asked an Akali Dal leader.
Congress leader Raja Warring said in a tweet: “When will you act against Amritpal, @BhagwantMann? What are you scared of? If you don’t take any action against him we, @INCPunjab, will be forced to come out on the streets. We won’t let go hard-earned peace of Punjab. Nip evil in the bud.”
The global investment summit hosted by the Punjab government last week aroused considerable interest. But Akali Dal leader Naresh Gujral warns against complacency. “If there is a law and order problem, investment will just walk away from the state,” he said.
He added: “The Punjab government must, in coordination with central government agencies, ruthlessly crush these separatist forces, which are increasingly showing their ugly head and are hell-bent on creating mayhem in Punjab with the intent of rupturing the Hindu Sikh amity, which is the lifeblood of Punjab.”
“Or else, history will repeat itself.” The state government, in the meantime, is waiting for the Centre to act: A meeting was held between Union Home Minister Amit Shah and CM Bhagwant Mann earlier this week. The state government is waiting to see the outcome.
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