SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal invokes freedom of speech to reverse the decision of the government on ‘SYV’ and ‘Rihai’.
Photo: IANS
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal, on Friday, said the ban imposed on a song calling for release of the Sikh prisoners by a Punjab singer Kanwar Grewal as the most unfortunate development and asked the Union government to reverse the decision in view of citizen’s right to freedom of speech as well as the sentiments of the Sikh community.
The SAD president said the song, ‘Rihai’ (release), sung by Grewal reflected the sentiments of Sikhs worldwide who were perturbed by the continued incarceration of Sikh detenues even after completion of their life sentences.
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“Kanwar Grewal has done nothing more than use poetic license to highlight this grievance besides demanding that history books should not be rewritten. This does not call for a ban under any circumstances,” he said.
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Badal said, “Such bans create a wrong impression about India in the comity of nations. We should not be seen to be suppressing freedom of speech which is enshrined in our constitution. India is the world’s largest democracy that respects pluralism.”
The SAD chief has decided to raise the issue at Parliament. He noted that the ban on the ‘Rihai’ came close on the heels of the ban on the posthumous song ‘SYL’ sung by Sidhu Moosewala which also reflected the aspirations of Punjabis who do not want their water to be diverted to Haryana through the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.
He said the SAD would also ask the Centre to disclose the specific complaint in both cases and who had registered the complaint while asking YouTube to ban both songs in India. “We will also demand a discussion on this issue to ensure corrective steps can be taken and this trend is stopped,” he added.
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