Punjab CM Amarinder Singh slams SFJ protests, calls them an ISI-backed group

A statement released by the chief minister’s office in Punjab, on Monday, clarified that the protest conducted by the Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) in Birmingham was a “damp squib”. The chief minister of Punjab, Amarinder Singh was addressing the Indian diaspora in Birmingham on Sunday. According to the press release, during his address, the protesters gathered outside the venue and tried to disrupt Capt. Amarinder Singh’s address.  

Statement released by the CM’s office 

The spokesperson in a press release conveyed that “The handful of protestors gathered there not only had no popular or genuine support but they also did not succeed in disrupting the Chief Minister’s program in any way. Capt Amarinder attended the entire event and was there for almost three hours, the spokesperson pointed out, adding that it was so/called protestors who were, in fact, forced to beat a hasty retreat”.  

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Chief Minister at the event 

Speaking to press Captain Amarinder said, "SFJ was a hardcore terrorist group, with no ideological basis for its campaign, and had to be treated as such”. Describing SFJ's "so-called legal" advisor Gurpatwant Singh Pannu as a "fraud, operating under the directions of Pakistan's ISI," the Chief Minister said, "Pannu's sole motive was to divide the Sikhs, and India, to promote the ISI agenda". Referring to the terror modules busted in Punjab in the past couple of years, along with large-scale arrests and seizure of weapons, he said these had exposed SFJ's intentions, but both the Punjab government and the Indian government were dealing with it with an iron hand. 

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Capt. Amarinder Singh on Kartarpur Corridor 

Addressing the diaspora, the Chief Minister called for a cordial and friendly relationship with neighbours to promote peace, in line with Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji's philosophy, for the collective resolution of global problems. "Both India and Pakistan had been through a lot, and it was time now for them to let go of the past and move forward in the spirit of friendship to ensure their respective progress," he stressed. Citing the Kartarpur Corridor as a beginning towards better relations between India and Pakistan, Captain Amarinder hoped it would set the stage for the opening of other important religious shrines in Pakistan to Indians seeking 'khulle darshan deedar.' 

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(With ANI Inputs)