CM Bhagwant Mann lashes out at Takht jathedar for ‘provoking’ people

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday targeted Giani Harpreet Singh, the acting jathedar of Akal Takht — the highest temporal seat of Sikhs — for “provoking” people by giving a 24-hour ultimatum to the state government to release all those arrested during the police crackdown on absconding pro-Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singh

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday targeted Giani Harpreet Singh, the acting jathedar of Akal Takht — the highest temporal seat of Sikhs — for “provoking” people by giving a 24-hour ultimatum to the state government to release all those arrested during the police crackdown on absconding pro-Khalistan preacher Amritpal Singh.

Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday hit out at Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh for “provoking” people through an ultimatum to the AAP government to release all Sikh youths who were held during the police crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh and his aides. (HT Photo)

“Jathedar Sri Akal Takht Sahib Ji. Everyone knows you and SGPC (Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee) have been favouring the Badals. Look at the history, many jathedars were used by the Badals for their personal interests,” Mann tweeted in Punjabi. “It would have been better had you given the ultimatum in the sacrilege and missing ‘sarups’ of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji instead of provoking people living happily.”

The acting jathedar hit back minutes after the CM’s tweet.

“Bhagwant Mann ji, as you represent Punjab, similarly I am also a small representative of my ‘qaum’ (community). I also have right to talk about the rights of innocent youngsters of my community. This is my duty as well,” Giani Harpreet Singh said in a post on Facebook. “You said right that often innocent religious people happen to be used by the political people. However, I am fully conscious in this respect. But, you should take care of yourself… political people like you may be used by the political people to keep Punjab burning to play the politics.”

Earlier, Mann’s attack on the Akal Takht jathedar came a day after the latter served the ultimatum to the state government to release all Sikh youths held during the police crackdown on absconding pro-Khalistan preacher and Waris Punjab De chief Amritpal Singh. “If the government does not release all the youngsters, then a campaign will be started in the country and abroad against the atmosphere of terror created by it through excesses on Sikhs,” the jathedar said in a statement on Monday, after a special meeting of representatives of Sikh bodies and seminaries, scholars and intellectuals in the Golden Temple.

He also asked the government to revoke the National Security Act (NSA) slapped on eight aides of Amritpal.

The crackdown against Amritpal Singh and his aides was started on March 18. While Amritpal managed to escape and is still “at large”, over 350 people, including his aides and some other associated with Waris Punjab De, were arrested or taken into preventive custody by the police across the state. Of those, around 200 have been released in the past four days.