Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday hit out at Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, accusing her of attempting to use the killing of a Sikh youth and the attack on Gurdwara Nankana Sahib in Pakistan to carry out her political battle against the Congress.
Referring to Ms. Harsimrat’s tweets in which she had sought to promote the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the context of the persecution of minorities in Pakistan and attacked Capt. Amarinder and the Indian National Congress leadership, Capt. Amaridner said, “This is the height of ignorance and stupidity.
“The CAA, coupled with National Register for Citizens (NCR), is the kind of tool with which minorities in India will be persecuted even more than those in Pakistan are,” he said, adding that it was apparent that the Union Minister had no clue about the implications of the CAA or the damage it would cause to India’s secular character, particularly in conjunction with the NRC.
Capt. Amarinder said the brazen attacks on minorities including Sikhs in Pakistan were appalling and indefensible. As if these attacks were not shocking enough, Ms. Harsimrat and the rest of the Akali leadership had stooped to a shocking low by using them to defend the CAA and target the Congress party, he said in a statement.
The Chief Minister also accused SAD of “double-speak” on the CAA and the NRC, pointing out that just days back, Akali chief Sukhbir Singh Badal had asked for minorities to be included in the purview of the CAA. “Don’t they have any clear stand?” These conflicting statements exposed the double standards of the Akalis on this grave issue, he said.
