Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said that the SAD-BJP government will continue to stand firmly to safeguard the values of peace and communal harmony in the state.
"I would consider myself fortunate to be able to repay the huge debt of gratitude to the people of Punjab for almost a century of love and trust reposed in me by them. I will not be swayed from the path commitment to peace, communal harmony, love and universal brotherhood shown to us by our great Gurus, saints, seers and prophets," he said.
The rank and file of the SAD have been instructed not to be provoked through deliberate incitements, he said.
After filing his nomination papers for the Lambi Vidhan Sabha election at Malout, Badal said, "When peace and communal harmony go up in flames, those inciting the people to set the set initial spark are the first to run away and escape, leaving the hapless peace loving common people to bear the brunt of tragedy and pay the price for the dangerous games they play".
Badal asked the people of the state to be aware of the dangers to their unique religious and historical heritage and legacy and remain vigilant against non-Punjabi elements busy in hatching anti-Punjab conspiracies.
He said that yesterday's incident seemed to have a two-pronged strategy. The first was to dilute and damage his image and sour the profound and almost a century-old bond between him and the people of this state.
"It is an unparallelled bond in which I have spent all my life moving about in streets, lanes and by lanes of Punjab cities and villages, visiting every home and meeting the common people of my state to understand and address their problems," 89-year-old five time Chief Minister Badal said.
The enemies of our state are aware that Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is the only party which is Punjabi in flesh, blood and spirit and has lived and grown with the people of the state here. The stakes of the SAD and those of the Punjabis are identical, he said.
All the other main contesting political parties are clearly not only non-Punjabi but are instinctively anti- Punjab, he said, adding that they have put on a sweet masks merely to befool the Punjabis.
They pose a serious challenge to the unique identity of Punjabis and even the honour of our people will not be safe, as recent happenings in the Congress and the AAP have demonstrated, he said.
These parties are instinctively full of contempt for Punjabis and our culture, he said.
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