Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal blamed Jawaharlal Nehru for ‘dividing Punjab’ and said that ‘to demoralise the Sikhs, Indira Gandhi attacked the Golden Temple in Amritsar and killed thousands of innocents’, ANI reported.
Speaking ahead of the first meeting between India and Pakistan to finalise the modalities of the Kartarpur Corridor, she said, “Indira Gandhi attacked the Golden Temple and killed thousands of innocents there. Then comes her son Rajiv Gandhi who then for his political reasons massacres millions of Sikhs all over. And now Rahul Gandhi speaks the language of Pakistan.”
She said if Punjab was divided, it was Jawaharlal Nehru’s decision. “That border could easily have been 2 km more. To suppress the Sikhs & to demoralize them, after Jawaharlal Nehru broke Punjab, Indira Gandhi came and attacked the Golden Temple,” ANI quoted her as saying.
Appealing Sikhs to stand by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government, she said, “I appeal to Sikhs, finally we’re getting justice for 84. Finally we’re getting Kartarpur Sahab corridor, if you don’t stand by PM & this govt, I can assure that Congress & Gandhi family will derail this on some pretext of talks & terror.”
The first meeting between the two countries will be held tomorrow on the Indian side of the Attari-Wagah border. Last week, India said that talks on Kartarpur in Punjab are related to emotions of Indian citizens of Sikh faith and is in no way resumption of bilateral dialogue with Pakistan.
Criticising Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu on his alleged remark that his cordiality with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan worked with respect to talks over Kartarpur, Badal called him an “agent” of Pakistan.
“You got it done from there but who got it done from our govt, who passed it in cabinet? He can say what he wants, he is Pak agent, he obviously has to speak about Pakistan,” ANI quoted her as saying.
The length of the corridor is about 4 km, 2 km on either side of the international border.