The Hindu : National : Amarinder Singh's visit to Toronto gurdwara draws flak

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Thursday, Jun 23, 2005

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National

Amarinder Singh's visit to Toronto gurdwara draws flak

Staff Correspondent

Pro-Khalistan slogan written at the background of podium creates controversy

Amarinder Singh

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's visit to the Dixie Gurdwara in Toronto during his recent visit to Canada has generated much heat in political circles here. Major Opposition parties have demanded that he be dismissed.

The controversy arose after a section of the regional media published photographs provided by human rights activist Ranjan Lakhanpal on behalf of the incarcerated president of the Amritsar faction of the Shiromani Akali Dal, Simranjit Singh Mann. The picture purportedly shows Captain Singh speaking from a podium inside the shrine with the slogan "Khalistan Zindabad" forming the backdrop. Mr. Mann was taken into custody for raising pro-Khalistan slogans early this month.

"Compelling evidence"

The SAD president, Parkash Singh Badal, and the Punjab BJP chief, Avinash Rai Khanna, have demanded the immediate dismissal of Capt. Singh. Describing the development as "the tip of the iceberg," Mr. Badal said that in the light of the publication of the "compelling and incontrovertible evidence ... he should also be proceeded against as per the law of the land."

Mr. Badal said that while his party would await the response of those charged with the responsibility of running the country before deciding on its next course of action, he urged the President and the Governor to act decisively in accordance with the Constitution.

Mr. Khanna said that it was clear evidence that the Congress had always encouraged such activities for electoral gains. "But this time they have been caught in their own net," he said and warned of a mass action if Capt. Singh was not removed.

Taking exception to the attempts to malign the State Government by "deliberately distorting facts" about the Chief Minister, three senior Ministers said the controversy was "mischievous" and "politically motivated." In a joint statement, Pratap Singh Bajwa, Jagmohan Singh Kang and Avtar Henry, who were part of the visiting entourage, said that he had merely made an unscheduled stopover at the gurdwara on the request of the local Punjabi community while on his way to a dinner hosted by the local Member of Parliament, Ruby Dhalla.

They said that apart from Capt. Singh's colleagues and other officials, the former Premier of British Colombia and now Canada's Federal Minister of Health, Ujjal Dosanjh, the Transport Minister of Ontario, Harinder Thakhar, and the Member of the Canadian Parliament, Gurbax Malhi, who are prominent liberal Punjabi leaders of Canada, accompanied him.

Rejecting the charge that Capt. Singh had addressed "Khalistanis" at the gurdwara, the Ministers said that a large number of devotees had come to meet him after the local radio stations announced his unscheduled visit.

Capt. Singh apprised the gathering of the development initiatives undertaken by his Government, made possible by the peaceful and investor-friendly climate in the State.

He emphasised that Punjab had suffered economically because of the unfortunate period of violence and that Punjabis must look forward to the opportunities of the future.

He reiterated his Government's commitment to maintain peace and communal harmony.

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