Security breach: UK-based Sikh body extends support to Modi

INTERNATIONAL DESK: The issue of cancellation of the January 5 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s rally at Ferozpur in Punjab has snowballed into a major controversy.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress are vying for each other’s blood, a UK-based British Sikh Association has joined the issue and have reminded the groups who had disrupted PM Modi’s visit that the state could have been immensely benefitted from his rally.

“The misguided people who disrupted the Modi’s visit should realize that the PM had come to give more benefits to Punjab,” Lord Rami Ranger, Chairman, the British Sikh Association told Zee News on Saturday (January 8, 2022).

This is noteworthy that the prime minister had to return after his cavalcade was stopped for about 15 to 20 minutes at a flyover on the way to Hussaniwala from Bathinda on January 5.

PM Modi was scheduled to make development announcements worth over Rs 42,750 crore for poll-bound Punjab.

Stating that the PM was a democratically elected head of the Indian government and represents the entire nation and not just one state, Rami Ranger added, “No one should undermine the authority of a leader who has to steer the country, it is a sad indictment of the security arrangements surrounding his visit that allowed a handful of an unruly mob to hamper the visit planned to exercise his democratic right to meet and greet the public.”

At the same time, the British Sikh Association also reminded that PM was not solely dependent on Punjab for his strength in Parliament.

“In fact, Punjab depends on the PM’s goodwill for its future development and being a bordering state, Punjab needs the central government to help fight terrorism and the drug epidemic unleashed by India’s neighbor,” the Chairman stated.

A Sikh political activist Mandeep Singh Manna observed that a few forces inimical to peace were trying to once again push the state into old days of terrorism and every Punjabi had to be careful about them.

“PM was coming to Punjab only after scrapping the three controversial farm laws to assuage the hurt feelings of Punjab,” Manna said.

He added that due to such incidents, the investors were reluctant to invest in Punjab and this was the reason why the youth of Punjab was opting to settle in other countries.

He said the protest against PM during his visit to Punjab had not made any dent in the reputation of Modi or that of BJP but Punjab as a whole had suffered.

Meanwhile, senior Sikh BJP leader Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina has termed PM Modi as the protector of Punjab and Punjabiat.

“The Punjabi culture and harmony are respected all over. PM has a special respect for the brave Punjabis and Sikhs,” he said.

He also alleged that the immature leadership of the Congress including PPCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu and chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi has put the Punjab and Punjabiat at the greatest risk. (ZEE NEWS)