Addressing a Sikh Sammelan at Jammu on Thursday, BJP MP & J&K Prabhari Avinash Rai Khanna held the successive Congress and Congress-led governments responsible for the hardships and discrimination suffered by Sikh Community in the state. He said that the worst sufferer among Sikhs are thousands of refugees from PoK, who have been living miserable lives for decades now in different parts of the state on account of valley-centric mindset of the Congress and its rulers of the state. He accused Congress of pretending to be concerned for the Sikhs but it had no regret for carnage of Sikhs in 1984 in the wake of Indira Gandhi assassination in Delhi and elsewhere in the country and the infamous remark of late Rajiv Gandhi that when banyan tree falls smaller plants get crushed is testimony to this Congress’s trait.
Avinash Rai Khanna said that be it the victims of 1984 riots or the non-compensation to PoK refugees, the Sikhs have been discriminated and made to suffer injustice. The religious places of the community too are under security threat in most of the areas of valley and the Congress-NC coalition is unmindful of the same. He also referred to the common grievances of Sikhs that they do not get due share in government jobs.
Making a fervent appeal to the gathering to reach M.A. Stadium on December 1 to listen to Narendra Modi, Khanna said that the BJP has always been with the Sikhs and is committed to fight for justice to the victims of 1984 as well as dignified rehabilitation of all the PoK refugee including the Sikhs. He said that the problems of the Sikhs will be brought to the notice of Narendra Modi and the next BJP government at the centre would strive to undo the wrongs suffered by Sikhs in the state.BJP State General Secretary Kavinder Gupta said that the party has always been raising the issues related to the Sikhs in the state. He said that we support their demand of naming Kunjwani Chowk as Banda Bahadur Singh Chowk. he said that Sikhs have expectations from BJP and the party stands with them but they too should come forward to strengthen us so that their voice is heard and resolved.It was organized by BJP State Secretary S. Charanjit Singh Khalsa, who also drew the attention of the MP towards long pending demands of the community and expressed hope that the same will be raised more vigorously in future.S.Roshan Singh, Dr. Gurcharan Singh Gulshan, S, Surinder Singh , adv, Jathedar Mohoinder Singh,, Dr. Satwant Singh, S. Jagjit Singh.