Amritsar, Punjab: Akal Takht jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh defended the construction of the June 1984 martyrs’ memorial in the Darbar Sahib complex in Amritsar, saying that “Sikhs have the right to give their martyrs a place of honour in their shrines.”
He was commenting on the statement of Congress MP from Ludhiana Ravneet Singh Bittu, who had mentioned in the Lok Sabha that photographs of “terrorists” (term used by Congress MP for Sikh martyrs) had been displayed in the memorial.
June 1984 Sikh memorial – Darbar Sahib (Amritsar)
In a statement issued from Amritsar on December 18, Giani Gurbachan Singh said, “Every community has the right to honour its martyrs. Those who sacrificed their lives while defending the Darbar Saib during Indian army’s attack in June 1984 that was codenamed as ‘Operation Bluestar’ are our martyrs.”
He said Sikhs who had died while defending Harmandar Sahib had always been held in high esteem.
Meanwhile, talking to mediapersons in Rupnagar on Thursday, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) president Avtar Singh Makkar demanded an apology from Ravneet Bittu over his remark in the Lok Sabha.
“The persons called terrorists by Bittu are martyrs for us as they made sacrifices for the cause of Sikhism and while fighting oppression,” Makkar said.