Chandigarh,
The Punjab Government has rejected charges of sacrilege in its advertisements issued on the 350th birth anniversary commemorative celebrations of Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji. Reacting to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) statement that a painting of Napolean Bonaparte had been morphed for the advertisement purpose, an official spokesperson said the assertion was totally ridiculous. Rejecting the SAD charges of a forgery as absurd, the spokesperson said the picture had been sourced from a Sikhism website, which was in public domain. It had neither been created nor modified by the Government in any manner, the spokesperson added. All the pictures/illustrations being used over the years were the imaginative creations of artists, for illustrative purposes only. The Akalis, who claim to be the custodians of Sikh religion, are obviously completely ignorant about these basic facts and have merely reacted on a media report without verifying its authenticity, said the spokesperson, demanding that it was SAD which needed to apologise to the people of Punjab for trying to politicize such a somber occasion with their petty allegations. It was time for SAD to adhere to its decision to keep such religious occasions as apolitical in letter and in spirit, and not pay mere lip service to the same, said the spokesperson.