CHANDIGARH – Senior Akali Dal leaders took on the Modi-led Union Government for the non-inclusion of Sikh regiment in the Republic Day parade.
They allege the move was deliberate because French President Francois Hollande was the chief guest on the occasion. Sikh leaders from various parts of the country have been protesting against the French government over the turban issue for the past some time. In schools in France, Sikh boys are not allowed to wear turban as it considered a religious symbol.
“We will raise the issue in Parliament in the upcoming Budget session,” said Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, SAD MP. “We will give a call attention notice on the matter,” he said. Had the Sikh regiment been included in the Parade, the French President had got the clear message that how important turban was in India, he asserted.
Sewa Singh Sekhwan, a member of core committee of the SAD and former minister, said the Modi government had done a great disservice to the community by not including any Sikh regiment in the parade where Hollande was present.
He alleged the Modi government was discriminating against Punjab to destroy it economically. “While a fiscal package was announced for Jammu and Kashmir after the formation of coalition government there, not a single penny was given to Punjab,” he alleged, urging the CMto confront the Centre boldly on issues related to Punjab. “Farmers are committing suicide while the state’s economy is in doldrums and the Centre is doing nothing,” he added.
