Days after Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia claimed to have proof of an “act of moral turpitude” by an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) minister, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann said on Friday that because of the Majithia clan the Sikhs were labelled ‘horse thieves’.

Addressing a gathering during a function to distribute appointment letters to 251 newly-recruited youth at Municipal Bhawan in Sector 35, the CM said when Jawaharlal Nehru was prime minister in 1957, a delegation, led by him, toured Arab countries.

Mann said the delegation included then Union deputy defence minister Surjit Singh Majithia, a forefather of Bikram Singh Majithia. Presenting souvenirs to the Indian Army, the king of an Arab country gifted them magnificent Arabian horses which were supposed to be sent to the training at the Army training center in Meerut.

He said two months later, the Arab king, upon inquiring about the horses, discovered that they were not in Meerut. The king conveyed his displeasure to Nehru over the matter, leading to immediate sacking of Surjit Singh Majithia.

The CM said this incident tarnished the image of the Sikhs, who were known across the globe for their nationalism, valour and heroism. He lamented that it is disheartening to note that even today, when a turbaned Sikh visits the training center in Meerut, he is seen as a horse thief.

Mann said everyone knows that Majithia family was a stooge of British and was conferred the title of Sir by them for hobnobbing against the patriots who fought for the country.

The CM alleged the family had feted General Dyer, the perpetrator of Jallianwala Bagh massacre on 13 April, 1919, by hosting a dinner for him after this heinous incident. This act had exposed their anti-national and anti-Punjab mindset and character.

Mann said not only the Majithia family ensured that General Dyer was also bestowed siropa and forgiveness at Golden Temple. It is even more shocking that Jathedar Arood Singh, the one who had granted the siropa, was the maternal grandfather of Lok Sabha MP Simarjit Singh Mann.

“History cannot be wiped out, the dubious characters of Majithia’s ancestors are etched on the pages of history,” he said, adding hands of the Majithia family are drenched with the blood of the patriots and the role of these traitors in backstabbing the nationalists can never be forgotten.

Pointing to the dire state of affairs within the Akali Dal, the CM said the party is a sinking ship and people don’t trust them anymore. The Akali Dal is today a ‘divided house’ and a situation has even reached where Sukhbir Singh Badal, Bikram Singh Majithia and Harsimrat Badal no longer share the same view.