Amritsar: Former Punjab Health Minister and BJP veteran Laxmi Kanta Chawla wants radical activist Amritpal Singh Sandhu, the head of social organisation ‘Waris Punjab De’, to act wisely. “Samajhdaar baniye, dharam ki baatein kariye. Punjab ke log bohot samajhdar hain.” (Act wisely, stick to only religious preaching. People of Punjab are wise).
Chawla, a vociferous critic of Sandhu, told ThePrint in an exclusive interview that while Punjab is currently peaceful, there’s rising, palpable tension in the state’s air. There are less than a handful of people who are raising their voice against the current situation in the border state.
The tension she is alluding to is the rise of Sandhu who accompanied by a posse of heavily-armed men is moving around Punjab, espousing the cause of Khalistan, an autonomous Sikh state.
“Everyone needs to come together to say the right thing. Nakkarkhane mein tooti nahi bolti (a few people speaking out makes no difference),” she said. “It’s fear, anxiety which is brought on because of the silence of the government. The current feeling is ‘who will save me at the time of an attack?’”
Sandhu took over as the head of ‘Waris Punjab De’, a social organisation founded by late actor-turned-Khalistan activist Deep Sidhu to fight for the legitimate rights of the people of Punjab. Sidhu had died in a road accident on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway in last February.
Sandhu had succeeded Sidhu in a ceremony held in Sikh separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale’s village Rhode in March, amid chants of ‘Khalistan Zindabad’. Sandhu’s rise to power mirrors Bhindrawale, and he even dresses in the same way as the late leader. Sandhu had left his family’s transport business in Dubai and come to the state to take over the organisation.
Chawla refused to comment on the parallels being drawn between Bhindrawale and Sandhu.
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‘Sikh-Hindu solidarity in Punjab very strong’
Asked about similarities between the atmosphere in Punjab leading to the era of militancy to now, Chawla said: ‘Jab aag lagti hai toh haalaat ek se hote hain, but ab humare pas fire brigade ki taiyari behtar hai,” (The situation remains same when a fire breaks out. But we’re better prepared now), she said. “Anyone trying to light a fire will fail. The Sikh-Hindu solidarity in Punjab is very strong. The state rejects terrorism.”
Earlier this month, Chawla, who is also the head of Durgiana Temple committee — the biggest Hindu Temple in Punjab, had challenged Sandhu to answer three questions about Punjab or go back to Dubai. Sandhu had rejected her invitation, saying that she should first talk to him in Punjabi and not Hindi.
Chawla has faced abuses on social media following which she didn’t want to discuss the matter further.
She has felt lonely raising voice against the current atmosphere in Punjab. “The good people of Punjab are silent. After my statement I was hailed for three days, but people didn’t walk with me for long after that. Even the ones who agreed with me.”
Migrant workers
While Sandhu has been raising voice against migrant labourers coming to the state and ‘claiming’ jobs meant for Punjabis, Chawla also said that there’s no animosity between migrant workers and Punjabis.
“Migrant labourers are working here because people have immigrated. They maintain our farms. Punjabis want people to come here and work. Some people spread rumours that a lot of Biharis are here and that the Punjabi population will reduce because of this. Those are people who play into foreign powers, and spread fear in the state. But the people of Punjab know better,” she pointed out.
“The government shouldn’t let people whose origin and association, we don’t know about, to run amok. They appear out of nowhere. This is dangerous.”
Asked about the following gained by ‘western pawns (read, Sandhu) in the state’, she said “anyone walking in the market will be able to garner followers.”
A former professor of DAV college, Chawla has always stood strongly against militancy in the state.
As head of the Durgiana committee, she has been working to create a scientific temper among people and move away from superstition. The former minister has also worked for women empowerment. “We had staged a dharna in front of the temple demanding women be allowed to be part of the committee. This was accepted back then and we broke a major barrier,” she said.
(Edited by Geethalakshmi Ramanathan)
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