Badal, February 1, 2017 : Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today asked AAP Convenor Arvind Kejriwal not to play dirty politics by supporting radical forces who were bent on spoiling the peaceful atmosphere in the State.
Talking to newsmen here, Mr Badal said "I am shocked at the manner in which Mr Kejriwal is supporting extremist forces. I would like to say only one thing to him. Governments may come and go but peace in Punjab is more important than votes. Let's not do anything which takes the State back to turbulent times".
The SAD president said whatever had happened in the recent past, including the bomb blast last night, had occurred due to the support extended to radicals by AAP. "Kejriwal has openly courted radicals be it having breakfast with R P Singh of the Akhand Kirtani Jatha which is a front organisation of the Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), meeting the expelled 'panj piaras' to staying at the residence of Khalistan Commando Force (KCF) terrorist Gurinder Singh Ghali at Moga recently. All this has emboldened radical elements who only want an opportunity to foment trouble", he added.
Mr Badal said Kejriwal was taking the same path as taken by former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh. He said Amarinder addressed a Khalistani conclave in Dixcy Gurdwara in Canada to get radical elements on his side against the SAD. "Kejriwal is doing the same thing. The entire sequence of events proves this". He said forget Kejriwal even other AAP leaders were courting separatists. He said Jarnail Singh had addressed a Khalistani conclave in London.
Speaking about the SAD-BJP track record, Mr Badal said the alliance government had kept radical elements in check for the last ten years. "Recently we even banned the so called Sarbat Khalsa congregation as it had a separatist agenda". He said chief minister Parkash Singh Badal had always stood for peace and communal harmony. "This is the cornerstone of our government. We have never compromised with peace and communal harmony. It is unfortunate that AAP has now encouraged anti-national elements who want to foment trouble in Punjab. The bomb attack yesterday is a clear hallmark of similar blasts done during the days of terrorism", he added.
While appealing to all political parties to keep peace in Punjab as their main agenda, Mr Badal also asked Capt Amarinder to act responsibly and not give any statement which could be misused by anti national elements to create trouble in the State.