Put immediate halt to Queen's Baton: Former Punjab deputy speaker

Former deputy speaker of Punjab Assembly Bir Devinder Singh has written to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to put an immediate halt to the glorification of Queen's Baton as the Commonwealth is no more relevant to sovereign nations like India.

In a letter to Gandhi, Bir insisted that she should ask prime minister Manmohan Singh or the sports minister to put an immediate halt to glorification of the Queen's Baton.

"The heroic welcome being accorded to the Queen's Baton at various places in the country with great pomp and show is the manifestation of our unconscious slave mentality which speaks volumes about the lack of wisdom and fickle memory of our people," he said.

"Since Indian National Congress struggled hard to win freedom for the Country, your kind indulgence in the matter as the incumbent President of the Indian National Congress would save the Nation from the huge embarrassment," Singh wrote.

He also mentioned the sacrifice made by martyrs like Bhagat Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha for "breaking the shackles of slavery."