Chandigarh: Violent clashes erupted between members of radical Sikh groups and the SGPC-run task force at the Golden Temple in Amritsar on the 30th anniversary of Operation Bluestar on Friday morning.
The trouble started when, after the prayer to mark the Bluestar anniversary, the right-wing group Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) led by Simranjeet Singh Mann tried to make a provocative speech and his supporters raised “Khalistan Zindabad” slogans.
As the members of the Akali Dal-controlled Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) protested against the Mann group’s attempts to deliver a speech from the rostrum of the Akal Takht, one of the infuriated Mann supporters attempted to snatch the microphone from Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Gurbachan Singh.
As scuffles started, the Golden Temple Task Force, which is meant to maintain order, swung into action immediately and took on the Mann supporters. After that, clashes erupted with the rival groups brandishing swords and hitting each other in the presence of TV crews. Altogether 12 people, including a child, were injured in the violent clashes. The Amritsar police said later that 12 people had been booked for the violence in the Temple complex.
The clashes brought back memories of the dark days of militancy in Punjab. It led to panic in many parts of Amritsar, as the situation turned tense with many shops shutting down. The state government rushed the anti-riot police to Amritsar, to prevent more trouble.
The ruling SAD condemned the violence, and said such “sacrilegious” conduct amounted to “disrespecting and nullifying the sacrifices of martyrs”.
General secretary Maheshinder Singh Grewal said the way in which the supporters of the Amritsar Dal tried to use a religious function to revive themselves politically was condemnable.
