Punjab suffering because Central govts refused to cede just demands of state: Sukhbir Badal

Sangrur (Punjab), Aug 20 (PTI) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday alleged that Punjab was suffering because successive Central governments had refused to cede the just demands of the state.

These include restoration of its river water rights and transfer of Chandigarh and Punjabi speaking areas, Badal said speaking at a conference held here in Sangrur to pay tribute to former SAD president Sant Harchand Singh Longowal on his death anniversary.

"Sant ji made the supreme sacrifice for the cause of Punjab but was betrayed by the Centre which refused to implement the promises made to him as well as the people of the state," the SAD president said.

On August 20, 1985, Harchand Singh Longowal, who was called Sant or saint by his followers, was assassinated by two assailants in Sherpur village in Sangrur.

"Even now Sant Longowal was being betrayed by both the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) which had both compromised the state's stand on its river waters as well as transfer of Chandigarh to Punjab," Badal said, according to a party statement.

Urging people to reject those who were trying to weaken the 'panth', the SAD president said, "You have listened to Bandi Singh (Sikh prisoner) Bhai Gurdeep Singh Khera yesterday (referring to another event). It is very much clear as to who should be released from jail first - persons like Bhai Gurdeep Singh Khera, Balwant Singh Rajona and Devinderpal Singh Bhullar who have been incarcerated for terms as long as 30 years or those who have been detained since one year only." In an indirect reference to radical preacher and Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who is lodged in a prison in Assam's Dibrugarh district for over a year for offences under the National Security Act, Badal while asserting that a person who has been in jail for one year could not lead the 'panth' said, "I do not want a repeat of the circumstances which led to the martyrdom of Sant Longowal." Notably, Gurdeep Singh Khera Khera has come out in support of the SAD while slamming the Akali rebels and the hardliners.

Khera, a native of Jallupur Khera village in Amritsar, was booked under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (TADA) Prevention Act and later sentenced to life imprisonment in two different cases registered in 1996 in New Delhi and Karnataka.

Khera, who is currently out on parole, was shifted to Amritsar jail on June 26, 2015, from Gulbarga jail.

Badal also said that Khera had also exposed the "so-called Panthic leaders like (former MP) Simranjit Singh Mann who had used the 'panth' to further their own interests and done nothing for the community".

He said that everyone was targeting the SAD because they know that if this was done the Sikh community would be weakened.

Urging people to take a vow to strengthen the SAD, Badal said this would be the most appropriate homage to Sant Longowal.

He also assured the gathering that he would never compromise the principles of the SAD come what may.

Speaking on the occasion, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami said "how repeated instances of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib were occurring in the state but the AAP government was not doing anything to unmask the conspiracy behind the same".

Notably, shortly before his death, Longowal had signed an agreement which was termed the 'Rajiv-Longowal Accord'.

The Punjab accord, also known as the Rajiv Longowal Accord, was signed by then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harchand Singh Longowal on July 24, 1985, for peace in Punjab. PTI SUN AS AS