CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) strongly condemned the decision of the Union Home Ministry to deny permission to a group of Sikh pilgrims from attending the centenary celebrations of the Saka Nankana Sahib. In a statement issued from the party headquarters, AAP Punjab in-charge and MLA from Delhi Jarnail Singh and MLA and Kisan Wing president Kultar Singh Sandhwan termed the denial of not allowing the Sikh pilgrims from visiting Nankana Sahib as a dictatorial decision.
The leaders said that the history of the Nankana Sahib massacre had a special significance for the Sikh community. They said that at a time when Sikh community is celebrating the centenary of this massacre, it is a reprehensible decision of the central government to stop Sikh pilgrims from going to Pakistan.
They said that the Modi government, under a well thought out conspiracy, was forgetting the history of how the Sikh community had made a new history by making sacrifices on this day. The leaders said that there was a long history of sacrifices made by the Sikh community to liberate the Gurdwaras from the mahants who were occupying the Sikh places of worship. "Today, when the Sikh community wants to go to Nankana Sahib to celebrate the centenary of this historic day, the Modi government has stopped them from going, " they added. The leaders said that the Modi government at the centre was attacking minorities for one reason or another. They said that the Sikh community was following the path shown by the Gurus and was still standing firm in the face of every major calamity in the country.
The AAP leaders said that today a large number of Sikh youth of Punjab were being martyred on the border of the country while protecting the nation. On the other hand, the Modi government was barring them from visiting historical institutions. They said that the Modi government had given an excuse of Covid pandemic to the Sikh pilgrims, but in reality the PM was disturbed by the fact that the farmers of Punjab who belong to Sikh community were leading the farmers' movement today. "The Modi government has been using all possible means to crush the farmers' movement and now preventing them from attending the historic day's function is also part of the policy, " the leaders added. They warned the central government that there was a lot of anger in the Sikh community over the government's decision, which would not be tolerated.