Members of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar)
Credit: PTI Photo
Chandigarh: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) will hold a meeting of its working committee on Friday to discuss the incident of an attempt to vandalise the statue of B R Ambedkar and also progress of the its membership drive.
Senior party leader Daljit Singh Cheema on Thursday said the meeting, which would be held at the party's headquarter here, would be presided over by SAD's working president Balwinder Singh Bhundar.
On the issue of bid to damage the statue of Ambedkar in Amritsar, Cheema said it was part of a "preplanned and premeditated conspiracy" to disturb peace and communal harmony in the state.
"Instead of moving to unmask this conspiracy the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is trying to cover up the entire incident and trivialise it. The working committee will formulate the party's strategy to ensure a transparent probe is conducted into the entire matter," Cheema said in a statement.
Police on January 26 arrested Akash Singh, a resident of Dharamkot in Punjab's Moga district, for allegedly attempting to damage BR Ambedkar's statue at the Town Hall on Heritage Street that leads to the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
A video clip purportedly of the incident went viral on social media, in which the man is seen climbing atop the statue using a steel ladder and carrying a hammer. He is seen hitting the statue multiple times with the hammer.
SAD leader Cheema said the meeting would also review the progress of the party's membership drive which started on January 20.
"The meeting will take a review of distribution of booklets for the membership drive as well as feedback from observers posted for the same", said Cheema.
He said besides, the working committee would also focus on ways and means to get all "bogus" votes registered for the general elections of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee deleted.
He said it would also discuss the current political situation in the state including the state of alleged "lawlessness and abrogation of all duties by chief minister Bhagwant Mann."