HVK Archives: Queen's visit: Cong flays Tohra demand
Queen's visit: Cong flays Tohra demand - The Observer
Ashok Singhi
()
18 August 1997
Title: Queen's visit: Cong flays Tohra demand
Author: Ashok Singhi
Publication: The Observer
Date: August 18, 1997
The proposed visit of Queen Elizabeth 11 to Amritsar in connection with the
Golden Jubilee celebrations of Indian Independence is kicking up so much
dust amongst political circles in Punjab. The controversy has snowballed as
it has given the State Youth Congress unit a chance to launch another
political propaganda against the Badal Government.
The Ludhiana District Youth Congress unit has strongly condemned the
statement of SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra for his reported demand that
the English Queen should bring the 'Kohinoor and other valuables' along
with her on her visit to Punjab.
The British Queen is planning to visit the country in October in connection
with the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Independence and is slated to visit
Amritsar on October 14.
Ludhiana District Youth Congress president Suresh Rudra and senior
vice-president Pardeep Malhotra, while condemning the statement issued by
the SGPC leader said that it was shameful for Tohra to demand that the
Queen should fetch along with her the valuables that the English had taken
away while leaving India. They said that instead of this, Tohra should have
opposed the very visit of the Queen to Amritsar and the State.
The Youth Congress leaders further said Tohra had no right to demand
anything directly from another country and that he should have raised the
issue through the Government of India, and terming Tohra's demand as "a
seecessionist statement," added that Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal
should comment on the issue.
The Youth Congress leaders further said that in the past, Tohra had always
been saying that the Punjabis had contributed the maximum towards the
country's independence and that today, when the whole country was preparing
to pay tributes to the martyrs of the freedom struggle, Queen Elizabeth 11
was visiting Amritsar.
Malhotra wondered whether the hundreds of peace loving Indians who were
gunned down by General Diar are less valuable to Tohra than the Kohinoor,
and whether Lala Lajpat Rai, Shaheed Udham Singh, Shaheed Bhagat Singh and
others who sacrified their lives for the country are not the pearls of the
nation.
The Youth Congress leaders said no Punjabi will tolerate the visit of the
Queen to the State who is responsible for taking the line of so many
freedom loving sons of the Bharat Mata.
They have appealed to Tohra to forget the political differences instead
join hands with them and on October 14, and said during the Queen's visit
the Youth Congress will show up black flags to her. "We should show the
Queen that though we have political differences, the Punjabis are united to
oppose those who have massacred their fellowmen during the Freedom struggle
and will pay tributes to them from one platform. We do not have any
compromise with those who have injured our souls so badly that even after
50 years we are not able to forget their cruelties," the Congress leaders
said.
Malhotra said he will write a letter to Tohra in this regard, and
reiterated, "the Youth Congress will not tolerate the visit of the Queen at
any cost".
He termed the reported statement of Kuldeep Singh nephew of Shaheed Bhagat
Singh -- that the Queen should apologise for the Jalianwala Bagh massacre
as his individual opinion and that the people of Punjab would not accept it
at all, adding the British had so badly incurred atrocities on the Indians
to keep them as slaves.
He said the Punjab unit of the Youth Congress would be meeting within days
to oppose the proposed visit.
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