G S Paul, Tribune News Service
Amritsar, January 1. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Capt Amarinder Singh has condemned the showing of black flags to the Prime Minister at the Golden Temple here today.
He said it was not only unfortunate but highly condemnable that the holy place of Golden Temple was used for a protest at the behest of Akalis.
The PCC president said the episode seemed to be a handiwork of the disgruntled and frustrated Akali-BJP leadership that wanted to gain cheap publicity. He said some protesters, who were Akali-BJP workers, had reached there in the garb of devotees. They had not only shown disrespect to a devout Sikh (the Prime Minister), but also violated the sanctity of the Golden Temple.
He said the Team Anna had already distanced itself from the protest, which clearly meant that the incident was stage-managed by the Akalis.
“It was simply a handiwork of the Akalis for seeking cheap publicity to make a handful of people to waive black flags to the Prime Minister using the name of social activist Anna Hazare,” he said.
“The common Punjabi feels hurt and upset over the incident as it has not brought any good name to Punjab. Only the Akalis who have already lost the battle could be expected to stoop so low to use a holy place and sacred occasion for scoring petty political points even if it meant violating the “maryada” (of the Golden Temple) in the process,” he said.
