Badals can’t escape, IG to be back in SIT: Punjab CM Amarinder Singh

Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said the Badals cannot escape the inquiry into the 2015 sacrilege and police firing cases and that inspector general of police (IGP) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh will be back in the special investigation team (SIT) once the parliamentary elections are over.

The SIT is probing police firing at Kotakpura and Behbal Kalan wherein two protesters were killed.

Addressing a public gathering in Faridkot in support of Congress candidate Mohammad Sadique, who filed his nomination papers on Wednesday, the CM said, “They (Badals) cannot get away by using their influence through the ruling BJP at the Centre and get the IG shifted out by the Election Commission.

“They only managed to delay the probe for some time, but they will eventually have to pay as those found guilty of the crime will be punished. The probe will be taken to its logical conclusion,” Amarinder said.

The Election Commission had ordered the Punjab government to transfer IG Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh out of SIT on the complaint of the Akali Dal for alleged violation of the model code of conduct. The state government has posted him as IG (counter-intelligence) in Amritsar.

Amarinder termed as a complete lie the claim of his predecessor Parkash Singh Badal that he was not aware of the police firing on October 14, 2015.

“No officer could have opened firing without orders from the top. The fact that they did not accept the findings of their own Zora Singh Commission showed that they had something to hide,” he said.

The CM said he will personally campaign in the Ferozepur and Bathinda segments, from where SAD chief Sukhbir Badal and his wife Harsimrat Kaur Badal are contesting from, to ensure that the couple is forced to bite the dust from there.

“During the Akali Dal’s tenure, as many as 113 sacrilege incidents of Guru Granth Sahib, five of Bhagavad Gita, two of Quran and two of Bible took place. Not even a single one has been reported after the Congress came to power,” he added.

He said Narendra Modi’s jumlas won him the election last time but people are now holding him accountable for the promises he made. Far from fulfilling the promises, the BJP ruined the country’s economy and tried to rip apart its secular and democratic fabric, he added.

Amarinder stopped at a ‘mandi’ (grain market) while on his way from Sangrur to Faridkot for a surprise visit. He checked the moisture content of grain and directed the Food Corporation of India officials to ensure that all arrivals with moisture below 12% should be picked up immediately.

Addressing a gathering in support of Congress candidate Kewal Singh Dhillon in Sangrur, CM Amarinder accused the Badals of abusing the Akal Takht to further their vested interests, saying its use for political gains is against Sikhism. “Even Maharaja Ranjit Singh bowed before the Akal Takht and faced penalty. The Akali Dal is a historical party but its current head Sukhbir Singh Badal controls the jathedars to promote his interests,” the CM said. “The Congress stays away from religious affairs but I will extend support to anyone who frees the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak

Committee (SGPC) from the clutches of the Badal family,” he added.

Earlier, the CM was scheduled to accompany Dhillon for filling nomination but could not, and addressed party workers only. Dhillon was accompanied by former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and PWD minister Vijay Inder Singla.

Sangrur SDM-cum-assistant returning officer (ARO) issued a notice to Dhillon for violation of model code of conduct for putting up hoardings on public property. ARO has sought reply from Dhillon within 24 hours.

(Inputs from Sangrur by Avtar Singh)