Chandigarh, September 3: The green signal accorded to a proposed bill today by the Union Government proposing Kashmiri, Dogri and Hindi as official languages in Jammu & Kashmir, is totally anti-Punjabi and amounts to stabbing mother tongue in the back. With the disastrous step being undertaken by the Union Government, the mask worn by the Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and SAD professing love for the mother tongue is finally off their faces and they now stand completely exposed.
Disclosing this here today in a press communiqué, the Cooperation and Jails Minister, S. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said that the decision taken by the Union Government is a black spot on the faces of akalis who so loudly proclaim of being the sole custodians of everything connected with Sikhs, Punjab and Punjabi. There never was any hope from the BJP which has always been inimical to the interests of Punjab and Punjabis but the veil of silence on the part of Harsimrat Kaur Badal and the SAD is very astonishing which pierces the very heart of all those serving the mother tongue, said the Cabinet Minister.
Taking a leaf out of the historical annals, S. Randhawa disclosed that Jammu and Kashmir has always had very deep rooted connections with Punjab and Punjabi as the region comprised the part of the grand empire of Sher-E-Punjab Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ji but it is a matter of extreme anguish that the connection has been uprooted in so atrocious a manner by the Union Government. What is perplexing is the strategy of silence adopted by the akalis.
Taking the attack right into the SAD ranks, S. Randhawa said that though this is not the first time that the akalis have gone silent over an issue of significance for the people. First Citizenship Amendment Act (C.A.A.), then abrogation of Article 370 followed by the farm ordinances, each matter has brought to the fore the double standards of the akalis. It was hoped that this time the akalis would put Punjab first but their stony silence puts a question mark on their ethics.
Further castigating the SAD, the Cabinet Minister said that with the panthic mask now off their faces, the akalis in general and the Badal family in particular owe an answer to the masses as to what stopped them from protesting vociferously against this hara-kiri and recalling Harsimrat Kaur Badal from the Union Cabinet. The horrifying step would consign the akalis, who claim to be the protectors of the minorities, to the dustbin of history.
In a poser to Harsimrat Kaur Badal, S. Randhawa asked the Union Minister must come out to clarify as to whether she took up the issue in the Union Cabinet or not? And if yes, then why wasn’t her opinion given any weightage? All this boils down to the dwindling reputation of the akalis vis-a-vis the centre. At least now, Harsimrat Kaur Badal should exhibit the courage to resign and show moral courage to stand in the defence of the mother tongue which has given them identity.
