CHANDIGARH: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patriarch Parkash Singh Badal has urged Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh to refrain from issuing "extremely ill-advised and ill-timed" statements which might become an excuse for blocking the much awaited Kartarpur Sahib corridor.The former chief minister also warned Amarinder that his statements could sabotage the fulfilment of the aspirations and prayers of crores of Sikhs all over the world. "Amarinder's utterances run contrary to the Sikh sentiments," he added. He was reacting to the CM's recent statements expressing fear that the proposed corridor could be misused by the Pakistan army and the ISI for fomenting trouble in India, particularly Punjab."Punjab chief minister should leave the issue of assessing and dealing with security concerns to the Government of India, and should, and as chief minister of Punjab, limit himself to supporting the initiative taken by India and responded to by Pakistan for opening the corridor," said Badal."Amarinder is forgetting that Punjabis in general and Sikhs, in particular, are a fiercely patriotic people and fully capable of dealing with any challenge thrown at the security, unity and integrity of the country. Captain Sahib, as an ex-member of the Indian Army , should also know that our forces are more than a match for any evil designs ," he added.In a statement released here, Badal said, "This (corridor initiative) must be welcomed as such and no one should do or say anything that may sabotage this achievement."Meanwhile, SGPC criticized chief minister Amarinder Singh for saying Pakistan's army was behind Kartarpur Corridor opening as part of a bigger conspiracy.SGPC president Gobind Singh Longowal on Tuesday said that Amarinder's statement on the corridor could prove to be an obstacle in the opening of long cherished link to Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan and had thus hurt Sikh sentiments. "Chief minister is a responsible person and he should refrain from making any statement that has the potential to hurt crores of followers of Guru Nanak Dev," he said.

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