Former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Sunday declared he and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal were ready to sacrifice their lives for defending the cause of peace and communal harmony in the state. Addressing the party's 'Pol Khol' rally here, Badal claimed he had been informed that a Sikh radical had been nabbed with a pistol meant to kill him and his son at the rally.

"I and my son Sukhbir are ready to sacrifice our lives for defending the cause of peace and communal harmony in the state," Badal said. "But we neither frightened others nor are we going to be frightened or daunted by such reports or threats," he added. The former chief minister said 'Khalsa Panth' represents a history of sacrifices for upholding the values of peace and communal harmony as enshrined in the teachings of "our great Gurus".