Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa charged 5-time Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Shiromani Akali Dal President Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal...

Spokesman News Service, Chandigarh, October 31: Senior Congress Leader and Punjab Rural & Urban Development Minister Mr Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa today charged 5-time Chief Minister Mr Parkash Singh Badal and Shiromani Akali Dal President Mr Sukhbir Singh Badal with stoking religious passions through the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee to put Punjab on fire again for their vested political interests.

“Desperately looking for agenda after facing boycott by the people for sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib and misuse of highest institutions of SGPC and Sri Akal Takht Sahib, the Badals are out to put Punjab on fire again, the way the party had done in 1980. It is on record that it is the Shiromani Akali Dal that had provided legitimacy to the killings by hailing such actions in the very beginning by adopting a resolution at its working committee meeting on August 20, 1980. I can forward that resolution to the Badals”, he said.

Prakash Singh Badal

Mr Bajwa said the Badals were determined to exploit the issue of ''mistakes" in history book for Class XII of the Punjab School Education Board that has already been withdrawn on the orders of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. The revised book that has been withdrawn was being released chapter. He pointed out that out of six members of the Committee who had been entrusted with responsibility of preparing this book, four were internationally recognised historians and again, two of them had further distinction of being the Sikh historians.

He said the committee was chaired by Prof Kirpal Singh who has been a member of Sikh History Research Board constituted by SGPC for last two decades and he is also working on a prestigious SGPC project. Sri Akal Takhat Sahib has bestowed the honour of National Professor of Sikhism upon Dr Kirpal Singh on 21 January, 2014. Mr Bajwa said the remaining two were nominated by the SGPC. The other three eminent historians were Dr J S Grewal, Prof. Indu Banga and Prof. Prithipal Singh Kapur.

Sri Akal Takhat Sahib

He asserted the issue was not just the history book but frantic bid by the Badals to regain relevance by creating trouble in peaceful Punjab and said the people would not forgive them for this crime of their, as they have not for their  sin in Panthic domain in 2015 that were heinous. He also called upon the SGPC to provide details of the books that were published by it and subsequently withdrawn as the same had blunders, including the one by then Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti.