SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday lashed out at Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, accusing him of attempting to link the Nanded Sikhs pilgrims with the spread of coronavirus in Punjab.
He also asked Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and the Congress to stop demonising' the pilgrims who recently returned from a Sikh shrine in Maharashtra's Nanded.
The government is the villain while the pilgrims are the victims of this villainy, alleged Sukhbir in a release here.
A SAD-BJP coordination committee also condemned the Congress leader, charging him with stigmatising Sikhs by comparing the pilgrims with the religious congregation of another community.
So far, over 700 of the around 4,000 Sikh pilgrims who recently from Nanded have tested positive for coronavirus, resulting in a war of words between the state government and the Opposition.
Sukhbir's statement came in the wake of a tweeted reference by Digvijaya Singh linking the pilgrims with the spread of coronavirus in Punjab, alleged a SAD party release.
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Coronavirus today is a global issue and Digvijaya's statement will defame the Sikhs all over the world as the originators of the coronavirus. It is a part of the old anti-Sikh mindset of the Congress Party which sees a Sikh behind every evil and every calamity that happens in the world, alleged Sukhbir in the release.
Badal asked Amarinder Singh to apologise to the Punjabis for allegedly tarnishing the image of the Sikh community through shocking statements by Digvijaya and Punjab ministers.
The SAD chief asked the CM why the state government did not follow a standard operating procedure on social distancing in the matter of seating arrangements in the buses for the pilgrims.
Why were so few buses sent to bring such a large number of pilgrims while it was known that only 25 passengers should travel in a bus according to the official guidelines, he asked.
Why did the government not send doctors to accompany the pilgrims when everyone is aware of the widespread virus," he further questioned.
The SAD sought an independent inquiry into the matter.