The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and central ministers over their absence from events organised by the Punjab government to commemorate the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur in the state, drawing sharp reactions from the BJP’s Punjab unit, with state president Sunil Jakhar calling the comments baseless and demanding a public apology.
Punjab AAP president and cabinet minister Aman Arora said that the state government had invited the Prime Minister and others to attend the events, but they ‘deliberately’ skipped the month-long ‘shaheedi samaroh.’
The BJP leaders, despite personal invitations, displayed a ‘blatant disregard’ for the sacrifice of Guru Tegh Bahadur, he alleged at a press conference here, expressing deep disappointment and dismay.
The Punjab government had organised a series of events, including nagar kirtans, kirtan darbars, drone shows, light and sound shows, and a special session of the state assembly. Cabinet ministers had gone to Delhi and various state capitals to personally invite all prominent dignitaries, including central ministers and chief ministers, to attend the events.
Arora said that the AAP government had conceived the commemorative events as “totally non-political.”
He said the Prime Minister travelled to Kurukshetra on Tuesday (to attend an event held by the Haryana government on the occasion), but did not come to Anandpur Sahib to pay obeisance to the ninth Sikh Guru. The PM and his entire leadership, including central ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, should be ashamed of themselves for not visiting Anandpur Sahib, the AAP leader said, claiming that the BJP does not spare any effort to project Modi as the Vishwaguru, but they failed to come and bow before the “actual Vishwa Guru (Guru Tegh Bahadur).
{{/usCountry}}He said the Prime Minister travelled to Kurukshetra on Tuesday (to attend an event held by the Haryana government on the occasion), but did not come to Anandpur Sahib to pay obeisance to the ninth Sikh Guru. The PM and his entire leadership, including central ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states, should be ashamed of themselves for not visiting Anandpur Sahib, the AAP leader said, claiming that the BJP does not spare any effort to project Modi as the Vishwaguru, but they failed to come and bow before the “actual Vishwa Guru (Guru Tegh Bahadur).
{{/usCountry}}He said the government had not spoken about it until now, hoping that these people would come. “Now I have no hesitation in saying that they have shown their true colours,” he added.
Slamming the remarks, Jakhar said that not only Aman Arora but the entire AAP should publicly apologise for this false statement.
“Arora’s claim that, despite being invited, the Prime Minister did not attend the event is completely incorrect. It does not mean the Prime Minister lacks respect for the Guru Sahib. In fact, Modi Ji paid homage to Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji’s unparalleled martyrdom during the major event held in Kurukshetra, and the Government of India also issued a commemorative coin dedicated to this sacred occasion,” he said in a statement.
He added that a national-level event was also organised at the Red Fort, where people were informed about the Guru’s extraordinary sacrifice to protect religious freedom and humanity. Jakhar said several programmes were organised by the Union government not only across the country but also internationally. “Therefore, Arora’s remarks about the Prime Minister are unfounded, baseless, and made solely for political gain,” he said, demanding an apology from the minister to the Prime Minister.
Jakhar further said that the BJP’s state unit also organised a kirtan darbar at Anandpur Sahib dedicated to the 350th martyrdom anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur, and the party leadership collectively bowed and offered prayers at Takht Sri Kesgarh Sahib. He added that SGPC had also invited AAP leaders to their event, but not a single minister or leader from the AAP attended. “If you truly have reverence for the Guru, then why did you not attend this important SGPC event?” he asked.