Khalistan supporters getting funds from Pakistan, other countries: Bhagwant Mann

Amid the on-going turmoil in Punjab surrounding the recent activities of radical Sikh leader Amritpal Singh and his supporters, chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday said Khalistan supporters were getting funding from Pakistan and other countries.

Without revealing any concrete strategy to tackle Khalistani elements, Mann, who was in Gujarat, said the Punjab Police were capable of handling the issue and only a handful of persons were supporting the pro-Khalistan movement in Punjab.

“Do you think 1,000 people (who have been seen shouting pro-Khalistan slogans) represent the entire Punjab? You come to Punjab and see for yourself who all are shouting such slogans,” Mann said when asked what he had to say about pro-Khalistan slogans being raised in his state after Amritpal episode.

Mann was addressing a press conference in Bhavnagar city of Gujarat after attending a mass wedding function.

“Only a handful of persons are behind this and they run their shops through funding from Pakistan and other foreign countries,” Mann said. “Though Rajasthan shares a much larger border with Pakistan, why do drones (sent from Pakistan) land in Punjab and not in Rajasthan? Because their (Khalistani elements) masters are sitting there (in Pakistan) and they want to disturb Punjab. But we will not let them succeed,” the CM said.

He also condemned Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal Singh and his supporters’ act of bringing a ‘saroop’ (copy) of Guru Granth Sahib inside a police station in Ajnala. The Punjab CM also termed the incident as a minor one and downplayed Amritpal’s alleged threat of more violence in coming days.

“This is khayali pulao (daydreaming). Punjab has seen such dark days in the past. The Punjab Police are capable of handling them and we will never allow anyone to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere,” he said.

The AAP leader also criticised the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre over the questioning of Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the Delhi excise police case.

“Raj Bhawans in the country are turning into BJP headquarters and governors are acting like BJP’s star campaigners. In a democracy, elected persons take decisions, not the selected one. The AAP knows how to fight and we are not afraid of the CBI or ED. They are wrong if they are under the impression that we will get scared if Sisodia is arrested,” Mann said.