State seeks more forces from centre
TIA NEWS / AMN /
CHANDIGARH: SIKHS in Punjab continued their agitation against the incidents of desecration of ‘birs’ of Guru Granth Sahib. Protest and road blocks going on in different parts of the state on Tuesday.
To meet the situation, Punjab government has demanded 25 companies of paramilitary forces from the Centre, which has been accepted by the Union Ministry of Home. The additional forces are likely to be stationed in major towns, including Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Bathinda. These will be activated in coordination with the state police only if the situation goes out of control.
Meanwhile Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday announced cancellation of the sixth edition of the World Kabaddi Cup scheduled to be held all over the state from November 14 to 28. Sukhbir Badal, who also holds the Sports portfolio along with Home, said he had taken the decision to cancel the Kabaddi Cup as a “mark of grief over the recent incidents of sacrilege of Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji”. Badal said: “My feelings too have been outraged and my conscience is not allowing me to preside over a tournament at a time when the Sikh community in India and all over the world is in grief over the ghastly acts of sacrilege”.