Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday slammed SAD (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann for calling Bhagat Singh a “terrorist” and said the freedom fighter will always remain an ideal for the youth.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) leader has been under fire over his controversial remark on the freedom fighter.
Replying to a question from reporters, the Chief Minister criticised Simranjit Singh Mann, who was recently elected as an MP from Sangrur, for the “shameful” remark.
“Who are they to say that somebody was a terrorist?” the Chief Minister said. “Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat attained martyrdom at the age of 23 years. He is an ideal for the youth and will always remain so." The Chief Minister said Bhagat Singh is revered even in Pakistan.
Bhagwant Mann said his government has put up the pictures of Bhagat Singh and Dr BR Ambedkar at all its offices.
Earlier this month, Simranjit Singh Mann had defended calling Bhagat Singh a “terrorist” in the past.
"Try to understand, Sardar Bhagat Singh had killed a young English officer, he killed an Amritdhari Sikh constable, Channan Singh. He had hurled a bomb in the National Assembly at that time. Now, you tell me whether Bhagat Singh was a terrorist or not," Simranjit Mann had told reporters in Karnal.
Mr Mann stood by his remark in Delhi when he went there to take oath as an MP after winning the Sangrur bypoll.
Punjab minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer had asked Simranjit Mann, known in the past for being sympathetic to the idea of “Khalistan”, to apologise for his remark.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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