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Have always stood by India and Punjab, tweets Diljit Dosanjh in response to Ludhiana MP’s ‘supporting Khalistan’ charge
Says his song Rangroot, which is a part of the award-winning film, Punjab 1984, was released in 2014 so how can it become an issue now
Leading Punjabi actor-singer Diljit Dosanjh on Tuesday took to Twitter to hit back at Ludhiana Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu’s demand for an FIR against him and another singer, Jazzy B, for “openly supporting” the demand for Khalistan, saying he has always stood by the country and Punjab.
“I am an Indian taxpayer who has always stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the country and Punjab in time of need,” said Dosanjh, who is otherwise popular for his light-hearted social media posts.
On June 18, Bittu accused both singers of inciting youngsters to take up arms and fight for a separate Sikh state of Khalistan, prompting Dosanjh to upload a video on his Twitter handle and come out in defence of his song, Rangroot, from his 2014 film, Punjab 1984, a clip of which was shared on social media recently.
Dosanjh said that the movie was screened in Punjab only after the censor board’s go-ahead. “The film was given a national award by the Indian government. So I don’t know how an FIR can be registered against singing a song and putting it on social media when it is from a national award-winning film released in 2014? How has this become an issue now?” said Dosanjh.
Bittu had urged Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh to file a case against Dosanjh and Jazzy B besides Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh for “openly supporting” separatist elements such as Gurpatwant Singh Pannu of Sikhs for Justice and his organisation’s demand for Khalistan.
In a statement, the member of Parliament said the letter written by Pannu to China proved that “they (he and his supporters) empathise with China and condemn India for the violent face-off (in Ladakh)”.
“The entire nation is still mourning its soldiers, but these extremists are supporting China to disturb India and Punjab’s peace,” Bittu had said.
