Referring to Punjab, he said that the state has been witness to bloodshed for two decades, but it had not disrupted the sense of brotherhood among Hindus and Sikhs.
As former Vice President Hamid Ansari continues to face sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over his remarks indicating insecurity among minorities, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh asserted that there was no sense of insecurity among any community in Punjab or in India.
While addressing questions from the press on Ansari's remarks in Amritsar, the Congress Chief Minister said, "We have had such incidents. But we do not have any insecurity (among communities) in Punjab or in the nation as a whole. We are celebrating 70 years of Independence and after 70 years, we all are Indians, be it Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists or Jains. Where is the feeling of a minority?"
The Congress CM who has been known to break ranks with his party command on several issues in the past, including Goods and Service Tax (GST) and surgical strikes, further highlighted that such sense of insecurity can never prevail in the country. "I do not think this can ever happen in India. If somebody thinks that this can happen, then this is a very wishful thinking. He cannot be an Indian," he said, dismissing concerns over 'insecurity among minorities'.
Referring to Punjab, he said that the state has been witness to bloodshed for two decades, but it had not disrupted the sense of brotherhood among Hindus and Sikhs.
Captain Amarinder had earlier hailed the implementation of GST and termed it as a progressive tax, when Congress leadership had made its stand clear against GST by boycotting the midnight session held to announce GST. A military historian, he even differed his stand from Congress when the party demanded to release evidence to discredit Pakistan's accusations that no surgical strikes took place and said that there was no need of any proof.
His statement comes when former Vice President Ansari continues to be targeted for his remarks which he had made amidst concerns over incidents of lynching and cow vigilantism. Speaking on the last day of his second term, Ansari had indicated that a sense of insecurity was creeping. "The fact that Indianness of any citizen is being questioned is disturbing," he had told Rajya Sabha TV in an interview.
Five months into the formation of the Congress government in the state, Captain Amarinder has also softened his tirades against Akali-BJP government, asserting that his government will not indulge in any political vendetta. "I will not follow any policy of vendetta. Whenever there is a problem of corruption, it will be investigated by the concerned department," he said on Monday.
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