Maur bomb blast wake-up call for Punjab's people: Harsimrat

Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today said the bomb blast at Maur was a wake-up call for people of the state and asked them to reject AAP and Congress, whose common goal, she alleged, was to destabilise Punjab.

"Congress gave birth to terrorism in Punjab and party's state president Amarinder Singh provided a fillip to extremist forces as chief minister by addressing a Khalistani conclave at Jalalabad," she alleged.

"Today, AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal is doing the same. He has aligned with extremist forces who have assured him support in the elections... Congress and AAP have a common goal of destabilising Punjab and derailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's development agenda," Kaur alleged.
 

Suspecting AAP's role in the explosion in which six persons were killed yesterday, she alleged: "Kejriwal went abroad and hobnobbed with radicals. This was followed by a few rounds of talks in Punjab in which he promised to hand over the management of gurdwaras to radical forces.

"Later, AAP helped radicals to organise the so-called Sarbat Khalsa. Recently, the AAP leader met the spokesperson of Akhand Kirtani Jatha in Mohali and jathedars appointed by separatist forces. He also stayed at the residence of Khalistan Commando Force terrorist Gurinder Singh Ghali."

This kind of active alignment with radical elements resulted in the brother of a "parallel" jathedar throwing a shoe at Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The bomb blast at Maur was also the direct fallout of this alignment, she alleged.

"Another proof of this alignment is that the accused in the Behbal Kalan sacrilege were supporting AAP in the elections," the Union minister said.

She said a large number of "outsiders" have entered Punjab to create trouble and that her party had complained to the Election Commission about it.

"But what is really needed is to understand the conspiracy. If we do not stop them today, they will recruit your children for terrorist activities tomorrow," she said.