JAGMEET TRYING TO DESTABILISE PUNJAB: CAPT
Tuesday, 24/10/2017
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CHANDIGARH: Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday condemned Canada’s New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh’s remarks in which he said self-determination is a right for Punjab. He said Jagmeet, the first Sikh to hold a federal party leadership in Canada, “is disconnected from ground realities in India, where Sikhs hold a place of pride with excellent achievements in every field”. CHANDIGARH: Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday condemned Canada’s New Democratic Party (NDP) leader Jagmeet Singh’s remarks in which he said self-determination is a right for Punjab as it is in places such as Catalonia (Spain) and Quebec (Canada). He said Jagmeet, the first Sikh to hold a federal party leadership in Canada, “is disconnected from the ground realities in India, where Sikhs hold a place of pride with excellent achievements in every field”.
The CM, issuing the statement in reaction to a report in HT, accused Jagmeet of “trying to destabilise” Punjab by “creating strife with his confrontational remarks”. “Canadian authorities should take serious note of such disruptive elements who are using their soil to spread discord in India,” he added.
“Jagmeet’s statement that he considers self-determination to be a ‘basic right’ in places such as Punjab, Catalonia or Quebec was clearly designed to spread trouble in Punjab,” he further said, asserting that his government would not allow any such attempt to succeed. At a time when Punjab is on a revival path, he said, Jagmeet is trying to “whip up negative passions among the Sikh community”.
Amarinder expressed a sense of pride at the contribution of the Sikh community worldwide, saying Sikhs are known for their extraordinary accomplishments. “A handful of destructive elements cannot undermine the achievements of the Sikhs,” he said.
Pointing out that even the US-based organisation Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) had “failed to trigger unrest” in Punjab through its recent “Khalistan 2020 Referendum”, which Jagmeet had echoed with his statement on self-determination, Amarinder said the NDP leader is not likely to succeed either.
It must be mentioned here that Amarinder had taken a tough stance against Canadian defence minister Harjit Sajjan, also a Sikh, and refused to meet him during his visit to India and native Punjab earlier this year, calling him a “Khalistani sympathiser”.
Punjab’s opposition parties Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) too flayed Jagmeet over his remarks.
