Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha Amarinder Singh warned on Sunday against the holding of RSS shakhas in rural Punjab as it could lead to communal polarisation and reaction from certain quarters, eventually threatening peace in the State.
A party release said Capt. Singh was talking to presspersons after a meeting with party workers in Amritsar, his constituency. He suggested that the RSS leadership reconsider its decision to hold shakhas in rural areas.
Reacting to reports about differences between the Akalis and the BJP, Capt. Singh said the people of Punjab were disillusioned with the BJP as much as they were with the Akalis. “It is immaterial now whether they [BJP] fight along with Akalis or separately, as the people of Punjab will teach them a lesson in any case during the next Assembly elections,” he said.
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“The BJP in Punjab cannot wriggle out at this stage even if it parts ways with Akalis as they have been partners in sins of omission and commission all these years.
Being part and parcel of the ruling alliance, they have got the best of the government and their leaders have been accused of corruption,” he said. To a question about Rs. 5 lakh compensation each to the victims of the 1984 riots, Capt. Singh demanded equal compensation for the victims of the terrorist violence in Punjab.