Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann on Friday said Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal’s call to begin a morcha against the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) was an attempt to divide the Sikhs of Haryana and Punjab and could lead to a bloodbath.
“As Badal has already announced that he would not let me reach Manji Sahib Hall at Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, where he is organising a conference against the HSGMC on Sunday, we have chosen an alternative location about 6 km from away near Ghanupura village on the Attari bypass,” said Mann.
Cautioning Badal, Mann said Sikhs had not recovered from past tragedies.
“He (Badal) should concentrate on bigger issues, such as the implementation of the Anandpur Sahib resolution, getting back Punjabi-speaking areas from Rajasthan and Haryana, ensuring rehabilitation of ‘dharmi faujis’ who deserted the army on Badal’s call in 1984, and persuading the Centre to follow the riparian principle for the division of river waters,” demanded Mann.