CHANDIGARH, October 30: Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Capt Amarinder Singh today lashed out at the Akali leadership for trying to blame him and the UPA government for the refusal by French government to lift ban on turban in France. He said, however, there was nothing unusual about it as the Akalis were the prisoners of their mindset which sees Congress hand in everything that goes wrong with them forgetting whether it happened in India or somewhere else in the world.
Reacting to the malicious campaign launched by the Akali leadership including the Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal and others blaming him and the government of India on the issue, Capt Amarinder said, government of India has taken up the matter at the highest level with external affairs ministry including Mr SM Krishna and Ms Perneet Kaur having spoken to their French counterparts including the French foreign minister Alain Juppe.
“But who will tell these ignorant Akalis that France is a sovereign nation and government of India has no authority on it and it can only use friendly influence which it is already trying to do”, he pointed out, while remarking, probably the Akalis do not know that France and India are two separate nations governed by their respective sovereign laws and are not like two states of a same country.
Having a dig at the Akalis’ encyclopaedic ignorance he said, “in the long held obsession of blaming the Congress led government at the centre for all their ills, they forgot to realise the difference that the same argument will not apply here”. He suggested to the Akali jathedars to set up a Morcha, outside the residence of French President in Paris to protest the ban rather than blaming Congress.
“I will advise you to better set up a Morcha outside Mr Sarkozy’s residence as you are best at it, maybe he listens to your demands”, he suggested to the Akali Jathedars, while adding, “blaming me or the Congress will neither solve the problem nor win you any sympathy or votes but will only make you look fool in the eyes of people who will only ridicule your ignorance”.