Union minister Ravneet Bittu sparks row with remarks hailing Sukhbir Badal’s attacker: ‘Gem of community’

Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, grandson of former Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh, stirred controversy on Saturday by urging the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to recognise as a “Qaum de Heere” or “Gem of the community” Narain Singh Chaura, who opened fire towards SAD leader Sukhbir Singh Badal in an alleged assassination bid earlier this week.

Speaking in Delhi, Bittu of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called on the Akali Dal and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to provide legal assistance to Chaura in his case.

“The attack outside the Golden Temple is condemnable as it is a very holy place… Sukhbir Singh Badal admitted before Sri Akal Takht Sahib that he had committed sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib… Narayan Singh Chaura (attacker) had no personal enmity with Sukhbir Singh Badal… He fired bullets at Sukhbir Singh Badal in an emotional state because he (Sukhbir Singh Badal) himself admitted that he was involved in the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib… As the Shiromani Akali Dal leaders hugged Balwant Singh Rajoana (a convict awarded a death sentence in the assassination case of former Punjab CM Beant Singh) they should also felicitate Narayan Singh Chaura and his photo should be installed in the museum… He only fired bullets after getting emotional,” news agency ANI quoted Bittu as saying.

Saying that Chaura’s actions were directed solely at Badal and not the Golden Temple or Akal Takht Sahib, Bittu drew parallels to past instances of Akali Dal’s support for Bhai Balwant Singh Rajoana, highlighting the religious motivations behind their actions.

“Despite being children at the time of the assassination of S Beant Singh Ji, we supported the demand for Rajoana’s release,” Bittu said, urging the SAD to exhibit the same understanding toward Chaura.

Reacting to Bittu’s statements, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and brother-in-law of Badal, Bikram Singh Majithia criticised him, saying, “On December 4, he condemned the attack outside the Parliament and now he has validated the attack. BJP has a lot to answer in this. Why is their minister justifying an attack inside a gurdwara… Does BJP support the ideology of Narain Singh Chaura (the attacker), because he is a sleeper cell of the ISI. RDX and an AK-47 rifle have been recovered from his house…”

The incident occurred on Wednesday when Chaura fired at Sukhbir Singh Badal at the entrance of the Golden Temple. Badal narrowly escaped harm as plainclothes policemen overpowered the attacker before he could inflict injury.

Latest updates on the attack

SAD’s Majithia on Saturday announced that a party delegation would meet Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria to submit “videographic evidence” supporting allegations that the AAP government “facilitated the murderous attack” on Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Majithia said that the SAD would also demand the registration of cases against Amritsar Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar and Superintendent of Police Harpal Singh Randhawa, accusing them of enabling Narain Singh Chaura to approach and attempt to assassinate Badal.

The attack, which occurred at the Golden Temple, was captured by media cameras present to cover the second day of Badal performing the role of ‘sewadar’ as part of religious penance for “mistakes” made by the SAD government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.

Questioning the actions of Amritsar SP Randhawa, Majithia, released CCTV footage from December 3 and 4, alleging that the officer shook hands with Chaura and engaged in a close conversation with him.

“The CCTV footage shows how Chaura conducted an exhaustive recce of the Golden Temple on December 3 and 4,” Majithia claimed.