SAD blasts Navjot Sidhu for calling Virasat-e-Khalsa a white elephant
Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today condemned Punjab Tourism minister Navjot Sidhu for striking at the core of Sikhism by terming the Virasat-e-Khalsa, which is a repository of Sikh history, religion and culture, as a white elephant even as it asked him to stop cheap publicity stunts like re-inauguration of the Partition Museum in Amritsar. In a statement here, former minister and SAD spokesman Dr Daljeet Singh Cheema said Sidhu had insulted Sikhism and Sikhs worldwide by referring to the pride of the Sikh nation – the Virasat–e-Khalsa as a white elephant. Asking Sidhu to apologize to the community immediately, the Akali leader said such slurs would not be tolerated at any cost. Stating that Sidhu needed to be educated on Sikhism as well as the monument which he wanted to turn into a commercial entity, Dr Cheema said the monument was conceived by former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to commemorate 500 years of Sikh history as well as 300 years of the birth of the Khalsa. He said one of the world’s leading architects – Moshe Safdie was roped in for the project which has now emerged as one of the leading heritage museums of the world. “As conceived by Sardar Badal, the museum has also become a museum of the people with free entry allowing thousands of people to visit it every day. Sidhu must understand the great service the museum is doing by showcasing the State’s rich history and culture. This cannot be measured in terms of money. Any attempt to turn the Virasat-i-Khalsa into a commercial entity will be a disservice to Punjab and its people”, he added. The former minister also asked Sidhu not to treat governance like a comedy circus. “Yesterday you came out with a statement saying the Partition Museum at Amritsar will be inaugurated on August 17. It is understandable that you have consistently been out of Amritsar as well as Punjab for the last many years. But that does not mean that you will start re-inaugurating State government initiatives. The Partition Museum was inaugurated on October 24 last year by then Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal”. Stating that Sidhu was always on the lookout for cheap publicity, Dr Dhillon said he should have refrained from trying to create credit for the Partition Museum. “It was left to Mr Sukhbir Badal to conceive the Partition Museum 70 years after partition, identify the Town Hall as the most appropriate place to house it and also hand over the execution of this task to the Arts and Culture Heritage Trust of Keshwar Desai”. Asking Sidhu to desist from his self serving ways and stop trying to garner publicity at the cost of his faith and even partition victims for whom he had not done anything, the Akali leader said “first learn how to deliver. Then we can even listen to you bragging about what you have done. But don’t try to ride piggyback on the achievements of the SAD-BJP government and try to appropriate the same”. — PTC News
