Chandigarh-Sukhpal Singh Khaira, MLA Bholath, today strongly condemned the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government for offering nothing more than lip service to the supreme sacrifice of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji, while their actions remain in stark contradiction to the Guru’s timeless philosophy. Khaira stated that Guru Teg Bahadur Ji laid down his life to uphold human rights and to resist tyranny and oppression imposed by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
“In contrast,” Khaira said, “the AAP government is inflicting vengeance upon its own people by indulging in fake encounters, imposing draconian laws such as the NSA, suppressing dissent in Punjab, and crushing human rights under an iron fist, while also gagging the media.” Khaira lambasted the AAP government for squandering hundreds of crores of public funds on publicity campaigns in the name of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji, which he said are motivated by ulterior political interests rather than genuine reverence. Further, Khaira condemned the AAP for infringing upon the rights of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), an elected Sikh body, by attempting to hijack the martyrdom of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji for partisan political purposes. Khaira also strongly criticized the discriminatory attitude of Punjab Assembly Speaker Kultar Sandhwan, who allowed only one speaker from the Congress party while permitting ten speakers from the ruling AAP. Khaira expressed outrage that once again his voice was gagged, preventing him from speaking on this pious occasion to honor the supreme sacrifice of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji. “Guru Teg Bahadur Ji’s sacrifice was for truth, justice, and human dignity.
It is shameful that the AAP government is exploiting his legacy for political gains, while trampling upon the very values he stood for,” Khaira added. Sukhpal Khaira urged the government to desist from using Sikh heritage and the supreme sacrifice of Guru Teg Bahadur Ji for propaganda and instead follow his teachings of justice, liberty, and humanity.