BJP questions Amritpal Singh's separatist march in Punjab; 'Done under Kejriwal's watch'

Two days after Khalistan ideologue and Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh commenced a month-long ‘Khalsa vaheer’ or Khalsa march, across the state of Punjab, BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Friday, November 25, alleged the involvement of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the said march. Sirsa added that the Arvind Kejriwal-led party has been allegedly organising pro-Khalistani rallies in the state. 

Speaking to Republic, the BJP leader asked, "It is being done under the watch of Arvind Kejriwal. AAP is basically deliberately organising these pro-Khalistani rallies. Earlier also such pro-Khalistani rallies have been organised in different parts of Punjab. I would like to alert the government machinery not to play with the security of Punjab as it could lead to the collapse of law and order in the state. The AAP government must introspect because Punjab is a border state. If Amritpal is asking for 'Mahapunjab' then why doesn't he go to Pakistan?" 

Amritpal Singh Begins March With Open Separatism Call 

Amritpal Singh is a Khalistan proponent who recently took charge of late actor Deep Sidhu’s organisation Waris Punjab De (WPD). He recently spoke to Republic to give a glimpse of as to what is his motive. Singh said, "You know there is a genocide going on...The Indian state is committing genocide against Sikhs...There is a drug genocide and cultural genocide...And there is a mass migration to other countries. So what we have started is to revive our traditional system, revive our traditional way to do the preaching...That's what we are doing...We are starting from Darbar Sahib and taking this to Anantapur sahib within a month...We will be doing and we will be staying overnight in some places and doing preaching... And further..." 

When asked what was their goal, Amritpal Singh said, "Freedom to preach, freedom to practise of religion...We have been through multiple genocides, if you go to this area of Punjab, there are hundreds of thousands of people killed in fake encounters, except judicial killings...There are mass rapes, now we are facing mass migration, and there is no education policy. Farmers are committing suicide. We want freedom from this because we lost our empire to the Britishers in 1849 and we are asking for that empire back."

AAP has been accused of being pro-Khalistan earlier as well. Earlier this year, right before the Punjab Assembly polls, poet and former AAP leader Kumar Vishwas had accused Arvind Kejriwal of supporting separatists in Punjab. In a statement, Vishwas claimed that Kejriwal had told him that he will be either CM (of Punjab) or the first PM of an independent nation (Khalistan).