Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday blamed the “Hindu Rashtra” ideology, which he said was being followed by the ruling BJP, for the rise of the Khalistan Movement and separatists like Amritpal Singh in Punjab.
“Amritpal Singh is saying that if Mohan Bhagwat & Narendra Modi talk about Hindu Rashtra, then why shouldn't I talk about Khalistan? Why has he got such courage?” Gehlot said while addressing a party workers' meeting in Bharatpur.
“It is easy to please people in the name of religion. It is very easy to start a fire but it takes time to extinguish it. You may think that it is easy to break, but it is very difficult to construct,” he said.
“In such a situation, Amritpal got that courage to say ‘You talk about Hindu Rashtra, why should I not talk about Khalistan?’” Gehlot said.
Our country remained unbroken because Indira Gandhi did not allow Khalistan to be formed, which is also why she was killed, the chief minister said.
“We should worry about our country. It is in the interest of the country that if you take people of all religions and castes together, then this country will remain united,” he said.
Amritpal Singh has been on the run since a police crackdown on his outfit Waris Punjab De on March 18. He has, however, appeared in two purported videos and an audio clip released on social media in the past three days.
He went live on Facebook on Thursday and declared he will not surrender. “Those who feel that have turned fugitive and I have left my associates, should not keep this illusion in their mind. I do not fear death,” the Khalistan sympathiser said in the video in Punjabi.
In the audio message that appeared before Thursday's video, Singh asked the Akal Takht to summon a ‘ sarbat khalsa’ congregation and to discuss issues within the Sigh community.
Regarding the rift within the Congress in Rajasthan, Gehlot said, “Every party has minor differences and every party also has some complaints. There are many compulsions too”, referring to the power tussle between him and his former deputy Sachin Pilot.
Gehlot also expressed confidence that the Congress will be back to power in the state in the year-end assembly elections winning 156 assembly seats out of 200.