Declare Kalianwala Khu victims martyrs: Capt

Amritsar, Punjab: Former Chief Minister and Congress candidate Capt Amarinder Singh has supported the move to grant martyr status to the victims of Kalianwala Khu in Ajnala.

Talking to the media at Ajnala today, Amarinder said, “Since the nation has recognised 1857 as the First War of Independence, those killed in the Kalianwala Khu for participating in the uprising deserve to be granted the status of martyrs.”

He said their last rites should be performed with full military honours. On construction of a memorial, he reiterated that apparently the soldiers belonged to Hindu religion and were from Uttar Pradesh as they all belonged to the 26 Native Infantry. He said a temple could be built in their memory.

Addressing a public rally in Ajnala, he lashed out at the Akali-BJP alliance for “failing” all sections whether these were employees, farmers, youth or anybody else. Questioning the commitment of BJP candidate Arun Jaitley towards Amritsar, he alleged he was not even remotely concerned with the area.

Earlier, Amarinder dubbed the SAD-BJP alliance as the “most unholy and opportunistic alliance”. He asked Jaitley to explain what he meant by “social alliance” between the two parties. He alleged: “Jaitley had admitted that it is an alliance between two communal parties claiming to be the sole representatives of two different communities, the Sikhs and the Hindus.”

Calls SAD-BJP alliance ‘unholy’

Calling the SAD-BJP alliance as a “most unholy and opportunistic” one, Amarinder Singh asked Jaitley to explain what he meant by “social alliance” between the two parties. “Jaitley had admitted that it was an alliance between two communal parties claiming to be the sole representatives of two different communities, the Sikhs and the Hindus,” he said.

Source: The Tribune