Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh were engaged in a war of words on Twitter over the Jallianwala Bagh massacre on its 100th anniversary on Saturday.
Harsimrat began the argument by criticising Captain Amarinder Singh for demanding an apology from the UK government for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. She pointed out that he has never sought a similar demand from the Gandhi family for Operation Blue Star.
“Amarinder Singh is seeking apology from British government for Jallianwala Bagh massacre. What about an apology from Gandhis for Operation Blue Star?” Harsimrat Kaur Badal said in a tweet.
.@capt_amarinder is seeking apology from British Govt for #JallianwalaBaghMassacre. What about an apology from Gandhis for #OperationBlueStar ?
— Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) April 13, 2019
READ: Jallianwala Bagh @100: Graphical telling of what led to the massacre
Operation Blue Star was the military operation that was ordered to remove militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and other Sikh militants from the Harmandir Sahib complex or the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The military action was ordered in 1984 by then prime minister Indira Gandhi. Sikhs around the world condemned the government for the military operation and saw it as an act against their religion.
Pb CM @capt_amarinder took @RahulGandhi to Sri Akal Takht Sahib but lacked courage to ask him admit the @INCIndia's sin of demolishing Sikhs' highest religio-temporal seat with tanks & mortars. What a contrast with demand for British apology for #JallianwalaBaghMassacre !
— Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) April 13, 2019
In another tweet, Harsimrat slammed the Punjab CM for taking Congress president Rahul Gandhi to Sri Akal Takht Sahib, the highest temporal seat of Sikhism, and not questioning the Gandhi scion about Operation Blue Star.
“Pb CM @capt_amarinder took @RahulGandhi to Sri Akal Takht Sahib but lacked courage to ask him admit the @INCIndia's sin of demolishing Sikhs' highest religio-temporal seat with tanks & mortars. What a contrast with demand for British apology for #JallianwalaBaghMassacre !” she tweeted.
Amarinder Singh, however, was quick to respond to Harsimrat's accusations. He went on to question her family's connection to General Reginald Dyer, who ordered British soldiers to fire at the unarmed men, women and children gathered in Jallianwala Bagh on April 13, 1919.
Did you, your husband @officeofssbadal or his father, Prakash Singh Badal, ever apologise for your great grandfather, Sardar Sunder Singh Majithia’s lavish dinner to Gen Dyer on the day of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre? He was later knighted in 1926 for his loyalty and his deeds. https://t.co/SMNwbivbnR
— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) April 13, 2019
“Did you, your husband @officeofssbadal or his father, Prakash Singh Badal, ever apologise for your great grandfather, Sardar Sunder Singh Majithia’s lavish dinner to Gen Dyer on the day of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre? He was later knighted in 1926 for his loyalty and his deeds.”
Thousands died in the massacre as Dyer and several British soldiers shot at the peaceful crowd and blocked the exits so that they couldn't escape. Many number of people also died in the stampede as they ran to find cover from the firing.
