Shiromani Akali Dal president and Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and external affairs minister Salman Khurshid to immediately take up the issue of the proposed legislation to apply ban on turban and kirpan of Sikhs residing in Quebec province of Canada and said that the Union government’s timely intervention with its Canadian counterpart was imperative to safeguard the rights and interests of the Sikhs.
In a statement issued here, Mr Badal said that it was unfortunate that the Quebec Assembly is deliberately bringing an ordinance to impose ban on wearing turban and carrying kirpan by Sikhs and headgear by Muslims and Jews at public places, schools, colleges and religious places to target minorities which cannot be accepted at any cost.