Manjit Singh GK, Akali Dal leader and president of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) was allegedly attacked by pro-Khalistan supporters in the US on Saturday.
Sukhbir Singh Badal, the president of the Shiromani Akali Dal, said on Sunday that he has requested External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to raise the matter with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Condemning the attack, Badal pointed at an ISI hand behind the attack.
“This attack has been done on behest of ISI who are anti-India, against stability of Punjab and want to create a wedge between Sikhs. Have requested Sushma ji to take up the matter with her American counterpart,” he said.
Badal also wrote on Twitter, “I strongly condemn the cowardly attack on Manjit Singh GK. He was unarmed & paying obeisance at Gurughar where he was attacked by goons backed by ISI. @Akali_Dal_ has never cowed down to terror & will continue to stand strong on the principles of Sikhism!”
I strongly condemn the cowardly attack on Manjit Singh GK. He was unarmed & paying obeisance at Gurughar where he was attacked by goons backed by ISI. @Akali_Dal_ has never cowed down to terror & will continue to stand strong on the principles of Sikhism!
— Sukhbir Singh Badal (@officeofssbadal) August 26, 2018
The miscreants attacked Singh at Yuba City Gurdwara in California. They blackened Singh’s face and pushed him to the ground causing his turban to fall off.
Singh said that there were around 30-35 people supporting the ‘Khalistan 2020 referendum’ were involved in the attack.
Reports say that three people have been arrested in connection with the attack.
This is the second attack on the SAD leader. He was on Monday attacked in New York allegedly by Khalistan sympathisers. He had then appealed to Swaraj for help and demanded action.
Singh is in the US to hold discussions among the Sikh community about the 550th birthday anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak, which will be commemorated in 2019.
On Monday, the DSGMC chief and his family were allegedly attacked by Khalistan sympathisers at a TV studio in New York, following which he appealed to Swaraj for help and demanded action.
Union Cabinet Minister and SAD leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal condemned the attack on Singh in a tweet urging Swaraj to take action, “The dastardly attack on S. Manjit Singh GK was not an attack on an individual but on the Dastar of a Sikh. It was an attack by agents of ISI on a party that is fighting the battle of justice for Sikhs. @SushmaSwaraj ji please take it up seriously with the US government.”
The dastardly attack on S. Manjit Singh GK was not an attack on an individual but on the Dastar of a Sikh. It was an attack by agents of ISI on a party that is fighting the battle of justice for Sikhs. @SushmaSwaraj ji please take it up seriously with the US government
— Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) August 26, 2018