India lodges ‘strong’ protest with Pak over remarks against Bhagat Singh in Lahore HC

The Ministry of External Affairs informed the Lok Sabha on Friday that a ‘strong protest’ was lodged with Pakistan regarding the ‘objectionable’ reference made about freedom fighter Bhagat Singh in the Lahore High Court.

The Minister of State in the MEA, Kriti Vardhan Singh, in a written reply to a question posed by Manish Tewari, MP from Chandigarh, said, “The Government of India has noted the recent reports regarding objectionable remarks made against Bhagat Singh in Pakistan and has lodged a strong protest with the Government of Pakistan on the incident through diplomatic channels.”

Tewari had asked “Whether the Union Government is aware of the derogatory remarks made against Bhagat Singh in submissions to the Lahore High Court?”

Though Tewari did not mention the case, Pakistani media reported in the second week of November that the Lahore city administration had scrapped a plan to rename the ‘Fawara Chowk Shadman’ after Bhagat Singh. The media reports said a retired Pakistan Navy officer had fled an ‘awareness’ brief and declared the story of Bhagat Singh a forged one. Pakistani media reported that the Pak Navy officer claimed “Bhagat Singh was an alien to Pakistan and an enemy of its Islamic ideology”.

Meanwhile, in Lok Sabha today, the MEA said the Government and the entire nation recognises the invaluable contribution of Bhagat Singh in India’s freedom struggle.