Chandigarh, January 31 – The Working Committee of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today demanded a judicial probe into the desecration of the statue of Baba Saheb B R Ambedkar on Republic Day in Amritsar. They also approved printing of 10,000 more copies as part of the membership drive of the SAD. Disclosing the decisions taken by the Working Committee, presided over by Working President Balwinder Singh Bhundar, senior leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said the Working Committee took strong umbrage. They were upset by a conspiracy that divided various communities in Punjab. This division led to the desecration of the statue of Baba Saheb B R Ambedkar in Amritsar.

Dr. Cheema Calls for Judicial Probe into Conspiracy

Dr Cheema said this seemed to be part of a decade long conspiracy to spoil peace and communal harmony in Punjab.He said, “As part of this conspiracy, they desecrated earlier religious granths.”” He said the Working Committee was clear that only a judicial probe could uncover the masterminds behind this act. “Authorities should initiate this probe at the earliest. They must act against the civil officials. The police officials did not fulfill their duty to protect the statue on Republic Day. The entire State was on high alert during this time.” Dr Cheema briefed the Working Committee about the membership drive undertaken by the party. He said as many as 24,440 copies had been disbursed. This amounted to 24.44 lakh individual leaflets. He explained that due to the huge demand for more copies, they decided to print another 10,000 copies. This was to ensure distribution amongst the party members at the earliest. Mr Harjinder Singh Dhami spoke about bogus votes registered for the Shiromani Committee elections.He said he had brought the issue to the notice of the Chief Commissioner. He informed Gurdwara Elections Justice (retd) S S Saron.He said a SAD delegation had met the chief commissioner recently. They informed him about the Sikh rehat maryada. Only those persons with Singh and Kaur suffixed to their names could vote in the SGPC polls. Dhami said the delegation had also informed the Commissioner about the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s actions.They claimed that authorities had ordered booth level officers to register votes from the assembly voting lists. As a result, they registered migrants and even people from other faiths as voters for the SGPC elections. “We have demanded that they review and delete all these bogus votes.” We will also give our formal objections on this account”, he added.