Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday slammed what he called the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s ‘Hindu Rashtra’ ideology, which he said has led to the rise of the Khalistan movement and separatists like Amritpal Singh in Punjab.
Blaming the ideologies of BJP and RSS for the popularity of radical preacher Singh, Gehlot said, “Amritpal Singh is saying that if Mohan Bhagwat & Narendra Modi talk about Hindu Rashtra, then why shouldn't I talk about Khalistan?” Gehlot,while addressing a party workers' meeting in Bharatpur, questioned the reason behind Singh’s audacity in making such a statement. He added that religion and politics have become intertwined in the country.
“It is easy to please people in the name of religion. We should worry about our country,” he warned. India remained united because ‘Indira Gandhi did not allow Khalistan to be formed, which is also why she was killed,’ the CM continued.
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The Waris Punjab De chief has released two video messages and one audio message from hiding as the hunt for the Khalistani sympathiser is on. Singh, who has been on the run since March 18, went live on Facebook on Thursday and declared he will not surrender. “Those who feel that I have turned fugitive and I have left my associates, should not keep this illusion in their mind. I do not fear death,” he said in the video in Punjabi. In the audio message that appeared before Thursday's video, the Sikh leader asked the Akal Takht to summon a congregation and to prove that Akal Takht is the leader of the community.
{{/usCountry}}The Waris Punjab De chief has released two video messages and one audio message from hiding as the hunt for the Khalistani sympathiser is on. Singh, who has been on the run since March 18, went live on Facebook on Thursday and declared he will not surrender. “Those who feel that I have turned fugitive and I have left my associates, should not keep this illusion in their mind. I do not fear death,” he said in the video in Punjabi. In the audio message that appeared before Thursday's video, the Sikh leader asked the Akal Takht to summon a congregation and to prove that Akal Takht is the leader of the community.
{{/usCountry}}During the party meeting, Gehlot also predicted that Congress will win 156 out of 200 seats in the upcoming assembly elections. He dismissed the power tussle between him and former deputy Sachin Pilot as ‘minor differences’.
(With inputs from PTI)