SHILLONG: The state government has taken a strong exception to the Punjab government’s decision to grant Rs 60-lakh compensation to the Sikh community at Harijan Colony.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong said the Punjab government announced the compensation without verifying facts and on the basis of hearsay.
Asserting that the state would provide compensation if there are injuries to any member of the Sikh community here as they are citizens of the state, Tynsong said, “But we have no information about any member of the Sikh population getting injured during the law and order problem in Shillong city earlier this year.”
According to the deputy chief minister, the Punjab government is trying to play politics on religious lines. “We are Indians because of the Constitution of India. I am fed up with the people from Punjab visiting our State .They have been playing dirty politics and trying to flare up this whole issue,” he added.
He stated that if something happened in Punjab, the Meghalaya government cannot react just because of the hearsay.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Amarinder Singh government had approved relaxation in instructions of the Relief and Resettlement Department for providing Rs 60 lakh as compensation to the Sikh community against damage caused to their properties during violence in Shillong.
Singh had deputed a four-member delegation led by Cooperation and Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa to visit Shillong for taking stock of the damage caused to the properties of the Sikhs in the violence.
On their return from the strife-torn areas of Shillong, the team submitted a report and apprised the chief minister about the situation.
