State slipping towards anarchy as political will is missing: Badal

CHANDIGARH: In his strongest indictment of the Captain Am arin der Singh government, former Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday expressed concern over the situation in the state saying it was“fast slipping towards complete and dangerous anarchy”.

Condemning the murders of Hindu outfit leader Vipan Sharma in Amritsar, Harkirat Singh, spouse of an Aka lisa rpan chin Malerkot la on Monday, and assault on Amarjot Singh Babb eh ali, son of A kali leader GS Babbehali on Tuesday, Badal said: “In just a few months, they have ruined the hard-earned peace and communal harmony in the state .... Political assassinations and communal murders are pushing the state towards the edge of a dangerous precipice.”

The former CM said maintenance of peace and preserving communal harmony require a combination of political will and administrative determination. “Both seem conspicuous by their absence in Punjab today. During my tenure as the CM, I began and ended everyday in office by keeping a close watch on threats to peace and communal harmony and reaffirming my government’s commitment to these sacred ideals. But in the last nine months, I have not heard of a single occasion when the political leadership and civil and police administration got together to review the situation,” he added.

› In just a few months, Congress government has ruined the hardearned atmosphere of peace and communal harmony. PARKASH SINGH BADAL, ex-CM

‘SIDHUPROVOKING ATTACKONAKALIS’

Accusing Punjab local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu of “instigating” Congress leaders against Akalis, party president Sukhb ir Singh Bad al said during the campaign forGu rd a spur Lok S ab ha by poll, Sidhu delivered an inflammatory speech against former MLA Gurbachan Singh Babbehali in front of his house at Babbehali village.

“It had set the tone for the attack on Babb eh ali’ s son, A marjot, on Tuesday. Earlier, SGPC member Dy a lS inghKolianwali’ s son Par minder was attacked in a similar manner by Congress workers. Political vendetta as well as assassinations of political leaders and religious heads had reached its zenith under the Congress rule ,” he said.