Akali Dal leader calls Bhagat Singh a terrorist

Amid the ruckus, Akali Dal (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann not only objected to the naming of the airport after martyr Bhagat Singh but created a stir by terming him a ‘terrorist’.

Difference between the Punjab and Haryana governments continue to shroud the naming of Chandigarh International Airport even as date of its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi draws near.

Amid the ruckus, Akali Dal (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann not only objected to the naming of the airport after martyr Bhagat Singh but created a stir by terming him a ‘terrorist’.

“Bhagat Singh is neither a martyr nor a national hero. He is a terrorist. We are against the naming of Chandigarh International airport as Shaheed-E-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh Airport,” Mann told the media.

While the Ministry of Civil Aviation is yet to decide a name for this airport, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) has rejected the name suggested by the Punjab Government by displaying a sign board outside the airport which will be inaugurated by Modi on September 11.

Chandigarh BJP Sanjay Tandon told MAIL TODAY that both the state governments should avoid any controversy as the airport also belongs to the people of Chandigarh. “The big thing is that we’re getting an international airport. Politicians should avoid creating confusion in the minds of the people. There is no controversy in the name and if there is a doubt it will be cleared by both the governments,” Sanjayu Tandon said.

Slamming Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for failing to set-up an International airport in Amritsar, Mann said, “Badal took the international airport project to Chandigarh so that the land purchased by him and his relatives get a higher price. Even if he has done so he should desist from naming the airport as Bhagat Singh who was a terrorist. Instead, he should dedicate the airport to Baba Banda Singh Bahadur-the Sikh warrior who had defeated the Mughals.” Justifying his stance, Mann said that he treats Bhagat as a terrorist as he had killed an ‘innocent’ English man of the name Saunders and a Sikh – Chanan Singh. This is not the first time when Mann has insulted Bhagat Singh. He was also arrested in Patiala in December 2007 when he had used similar words for the martyr.

Meanwhile the Punjab government said that it will stick to the resolution which was passed by the state assembly in 2009. “The government will stick to the non-official resolution passed by the Punjab Vidhan Sabha in naming the airport as Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh International Airport,” Vishwajeet Khanna, secretary, civil aviation, Punjab government, said.

Source : India Today