Amritsar, Punjab (April 05, 2014): Congress candidate from Amritsar Lok Sabha seat and former Punjab Chief Minister- Captain Amrinder Singh has maintained that more than 35000 Hindus were killed during the days of so-called ‘terrorism’ in Punjab. He had made similar claims on certain occasions earlier also.
According to media reports Amrinder Singh targeted Arun Jaitly, BJP candidate from Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, and said that why Jaitly was silent about 35000 killings of innocent Hindus during the days of ‘terrorism’ in Punjab.
There were incidents of Hindu killings but the number of 35000 is highly exaggerated. Amrinder Singh should either present data in support of his claim or he should withdraw his statement, which is nothing more than politically motivated propaganda.
No one could justified innocent killings, but presenting exaggerated claims to serve one’s political motives is a wrongful practice that need to be discouraged.
It is being considered that by making such statements Captain Amrinder Singh is attempting to appease Hindu voters.
He is also opposing Martyrs’ memorial built, in the memory of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh martyrs, at Darbar Sahib Amritsar. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh martyrs had laid their lives while defending Darbar Sahib complex during June 1984 attack on Darbar sahib. The army attack was celebrated by Hindus in Punjab, while the Sikhs considered it as the beginning of third “Ghallughara” (holocaust) of the Sikh history.
Capt. Amrinder Singh is also criticizing Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal for his role in June 1984 attack on Darbar Sahib by Indian army. Amrinder Singh, who had resigned from the Congress party after June 1984 attack, is using the issue of June 1984 as a tool for attacking his political opponents during Lok Sabha elections.
Sikh body Dal Khalsa has already condemned Congress and BJP candidates (Amrinder Singh and Arun Jaitly) for their attempts to exploit the issue of June 1984 attack on Darbar Sahib.
Dal Khalsa accused both Congress and the BJP for ‘doing’ trade on Sikh pain and using it as a political bargaining tool.
In a statement sent to the Sikh Siyasat News (SSN) Dal Khalsa head Bhai Harcharan Jit Singh Dhami said: ‘as elections are drawing nearer, both the parties were playing bad politics on June 1984 army attack (also called Operation Blue Star) and November 1984 carnage’.
The is notable that the period of post-1984 to mid-1990s was marked by blatant use of state oppression against the civilian Sikh population. Many human rights reports and documents including, but not limited to, “Death Silence” (by Asia Watch, now known as Human Rights Watch); Reduced to Ashes (Ram Narayan Kumar and Amrik Singh) and Protecting the Killers (by Ensaaf) have documented the torture, fake encounters, custodial killings and enforced disappearances of the Sikhs in Punjab by the state police and other Indian security forces.
The culprits of human rights abuses have enjoyed impunity and promotions in security forces. Sumedh Saini, Punjab’s Director General of Police, who is currently on leave till May 20 is a glaring example of the fact that how the human rights abusers were accommodated by the state.
It is notable that both Amrinder Singh and Parkash Singh Badal are equally responsible for accommodating human rights abusers during their terms as Chief Minister in Punjab.