Bains duo, Gandhi attend Khaira’s meet

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 21

A meeting convened by AAP rebel group leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira to mobilise political parties on the Bargari sacrilege issue today witnessed the participation of Lok Insaaf Party MLAs Simarjit Singh and Balwinder Singh Bains, Bargari Insaaf Morcha leaders Bhai Mohkam Singh and Gurdeep Singh Bathinda, former Congress leader Bir Devinder Singh, suspended AAP MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi, several SGPC members and leaders from farmers’ organisations.

Khaira said the purpose of the meeting was to build pressure on the Congress government to initiate action against those who ordered police action against Sikh protesters at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in Faridkot district in October 2015.

At the meeting, it was decided to stage a march from Kotkapura to Bargari, passing through the affected villages, on October 7.

An 11-member committee will be constituted to continue the agitation. Khaira said all political parties, barring the Shiromani Akali Dal, would be approached again to participate in the march.

Yesterday, Left parties (CPI and CPM) had announced to stay away from Khaira’s all-party meeting. In a statement, Bant Brar, state secretary of the CPI, had said that Khaira was only heading a group and was not the leader of any political party. Brar had said that the incidents of sacrilege had started during the tenure of the SAD-BJP government, but these had not stopped even during the Congress rule.