The state-owned buses in Punjab have triggered a new controversy after many buses were seen covered with posters of killedKhalistani extremist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and others.
Many buses being run by the PEPSU Road Transport Corporation (PRTC), carried slogans and posters of Bhindranwale and others. Photos and videos from the buses, openly portraying jailedterrorists as heroes, are viral on social media.
Following the complaint, the PRTC¡¯sExecutive Engineer-cum-Nodal officer on July 6 ordered the removal of thecontroversial posters, calling Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and Avtar Singh Hawara'terrorists', India Today reported.
¡°I came to know from the social media thatPRTC buses are carrying objectionable photos of terrorists Jarnail SinghBhindranwale and Jagtar Singh Hawara. These photos can disturb the peace. Hence, itis being hereby ordered to remove these photos,¡± reads the order addressed toPatiala, Sangrur, Barnala, Budhlada, Bathinda, Faridkot, Kapurthala, Chandigarh, and Ludhiana depots.
The order was met with a sharp reaction from hardline Sikh groups who launched protests in Patiala and Jalandhar, demanding the removal of the prohibitory orders.
In a surprise turn of events, the PRTCofficer on July 11 withdrew the earlier orders and said, ¡°The orders have hurtthe religious sentiments of some religious organizations. Hence, the previousorders are being hereby withdrawn.¡±
With the state government being criticizedover the issue, the AAP clarified that the controversy created by the PRTCauthorities has nothing to do with the orders issued by the Additional DirectorGeneral of Police (Law and Order) on June 28.
AAP spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang saidthat the PRTC controversy has nothing to do with the ADGP¡¯s orders which havenot been revoked. Slamming the BJP, Kang denied the allegations and accused theBJP of dividing society.
The display of photos and banners offormer Sikh terrorists and Khalistani groups is not limited to the state-ownedbuses. It was reported that pro-Khalistan graffiti being scrawled on the walls of government buildings, including the courts, parks, railway and Hindu temples since AAP came to power.
Pertinently, the AAP government is the targetof the opposition BJP, which has linked the display of photos and banners ofextremists on state buses and Khalistani slogans on the walls to AAP¡¯s past.
¡°Khalistan Zindabad slogans have beenscrawled on the walls of the offices of the Deputy Commissioner and policeofficers and temples. This is nothing new. Some AAP leaders call terrorists¡®belligerent Sikhs¡¯. AAP is playing a dangerous game in Punjab,¡± BJP leaderVineet Joshi told India Today TV.
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