MS Bitta praises PM Modi for Kartarpur corridor dialogue

All India Anti-Terrorist Front chairman Maninderjeet Singh Bitta has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for initiating a dialogue with Pakistan on Kartarpur corridor.

Bitta said that it is the Prime Minister who actually thinks of the welfare of the Sikh community.

"There was no possibility of talks over the Kartarpur Corridor in the aftermath of the killing of Indian soldiers (in Pulwama) by Pak-backed terrorists and the subsequent Indian action of carrying out a surgical strike. The atmosphere was highly tensed", Bitta told ANI here.

"This is the first Prime Minister who has truly cared for the feelings of Sikhs; not just Sikhs in India but Sikhs across the world. The same Prime Minister who never compromises on the issue of national security, respected and gave a green signal to the corridor," he added.

 

Bitta asserted that Khalistan is a figment of a few people's imagination, the people who are thriving at Pakistan's money, though it will never be materialised.

"Neither have we allowed the formation of Khalistan nor are we ever going to allow it. It would become a reality only over our bodies. I promise it to every individual living in India that we will never let Khalistan be formed," said Bitta, who himself is a victim of terrorism.

"The whole concept of Khalistan has been planted by the ISI. Nobody in this world wants Khalistan. This is being done by a handful of Sikhs to malign the entire Sikh community," he added.

India recently banned Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), a fringe organisation founded in 2007, which is known to push for the Sikh referendum 2020 as part of its separatist agenda.

The SFJ was formed with Avtar Singh Pannun as its president and Gurpatwant Singh Pannun as its legal advisor. Bitta said the organisation is funded and supported by Pakistan's spy agencies.

"There have been pictures of Pannun with Pakistani agents and those from Pakistan who encourage terrorism. The 'Referendum 2020' that they initiated in the United Kingdom had the Pakistani agents involved, and the whole campaign was run by Pakistan," said Bitta.

"The Government's step to ban 'Sikh for Justice' is really appreciable. This step should have been taken much before by the previous governments," he added.

"We won't let all Sikhs across the globe get blamed because of this Pannun and company. Their number is just a hundred or maybe 150, maximum it will go to 200," he concluded.