Satluj Row Bjp Sikh Leaders Ravneet Singh Bittu Bittu Diljit Jaswant Singh Khalra

The BJP’s efforts to keep a safe distance from the spreading heat over issues raised by the film Satluj are coming under strain.

BJP Sikh leaders have expressed unease over Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu taking the lead in attacking the film and calling it a “one-sided” view of militancy years. In a swipe at Bittu, senior BJP leader and former IPS officer Iqbal Singh Lalpura said, “every person should remain within limits”.

For the BJP, winning Sikh support is an uphill battle, given its estrangement from once-ally Akali Dal and the anger within the community over its farm laws. The party’s Sikh leaders fear that Bittu’s stance against the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer, based on the life of slain activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, will further push the community away.

Several BJP leaders The Indian Express spoke to asserted that no killing of innocents was justified – whether by militants or by police in alleged fake encounters. They also dismissed the argument that the film could inflame tensions between Sikhs and Hindus.

Officially, the BJP’s position is as stated by its state president Kewal Singh Dhillon. Expressing his support to “Punjab’s cinema and its artists”, he said: “When serious concerns were raised over the manner in which Satluj was removed from OTT, I felt it was my responsibility to place the matter before the government. I welcome the Centre’s prompt decision to refer the issue to a review committee. Due process, transparency and respect for Punjab’s cultural and creative voices must always go hand in hand.”

Senior Supreme Court Advocate and BJP leader Harvinder Singh Phoolka said he supported showing the film as the younger generation must understand the realities of the militancy era, and advised Bittu to “not enter into any unnecessary controversy”. “The killings of innocent people should never be forgotten irrespective of religion, and the guilty not be forgiven,” Phoolka said.

Adding that it was to Punjab’s credit that it defied attempts to inject communal disharmony during the time, he said: “The targeted Hindu killings were done by militants while innocent Sikhs were killed in the name of encounters by police.”

Having led the legal fight for many 1984 anti-Sikh riot victims, Phoolka added: “Movies such as Satluj must be made to tell our generation how we all overcame those difficult times.”

Lalpura appealed for “restraint”. “I don’t want to speak much about Bittu’s comments, but every person should remain within limits. Khalra gave an account that 25,000 killings were killed, and later some of it was verified by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)… If there is any confusion about the data, Bittu can take that figure from the NHRC and shouldn’t blow up the issue,” Lalpura, who earlier headed the National Commission for Minorities, said.

Supporting that “both sides of the story” should be told, he said the origins of militancy should not be ignored either. On the BJP stand, he added: “The party is always for Punjab, Punjabi and Punjabiyat… We all are Punjabis irrespective of our religion.”

Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Sahney said any film based on historical events should be viewed as an artistic interpretation and must not become a means to reopen old wounds or create fresh divisions. “It is well-established that Khalra pursued the issue of disappearances only through constitutional and legal means. The Supreme Court and NHRC took cognizance of these issues, the CBI registered 62 cases, and his own abduction and murder ultimately led to convictions.”

On whether Satluj was one-sided, Sahney said: “It is a film centred on one specific chapter… it (does not) seek to present the entire history of terrorism and militancy. Equally, neither Diljit Dosanjh nor the makers of the film have sought to justify terrorism or diminish the immense suffering caused by militancy.”

Punjab BJP vice-president Fateh Jung Bajwa said his family had personally suffered during militancy, and therefore he understood the significance of portraying that period. Bajwa’s father Satnam Singh Bajwa, a three-time MLA, was killed by militants in July 1987. His brother Partap Singh Bajwa is the Congress Leader of the Opposition.

Fears that Punjab’s communal harmony would be disturbed by the film were unfounded, Fateh Jung added. “It stayed intact during the militancy and it is intact now.”

Asked about Sikh leaders in the BJP backing Satluj, Bittu said: “Lalpuraji is our respected senior leader and I will definitely take his advice. He himself was posted as SP in the border zone during that period and hence has seen everything from close.”

He added that his “only concern” was that his grandfather Beant Singh, the CM of Punjab who was assassinated by militants, was being implicated in the alleged disappearances. “Till he was alive, there was no police case against Khalraji and he was never questioned by police… My grandfather was assassinated on August 31, 1995, and Khalra was abducted on September 6, 1995, and later killed in October 1995. So where does his (Beant Singh’s) role come in?”

Bittu reiterated that the figure of 25,000 disappearances was unfounded. “Verify the records from the NHRC website, and the data is not even 2,000.”