IT’S AKALIBJP VS SIDHU VS RLYS
BLAME GAME Sukhbir, Majithia demand Sidhu’s resignation; BJP says his wife fled scene after tragedy; minister Sidhu’s loyalists call it ‘big conspiracy’; rival camps post videos on social media
The rail tragedy that claimed nearly 60 lives and left many injured during the Dussehra festivities in Amritsar on Friday has turned into a political minefield. Opposition Akali Dal-BJP leaders on Saturday trained their guns on minister Navjot Singh Sidhu.
CHANDIGARH: The rail tragedy that claimed nearly 60 lives and left many injured during the Dussehra festivities in Amritsar on Friday has turned into a political minefield. Opposition Akali DalBJP leaders on Saturday trained their guns on Punjab local government minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, saying his wife Navjot Kaur, who was chief guest at the function, “fled the scene” after the accident. They also claimed organiser Meethu Madaan, son of councillor Vijay Madaan, a Sidhu loyalist, had overlooked security concerns, did not have municipal corporation’s permission nor informed local railway employees about the event.
Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said the initial reports suggest it was a tragedy that could have been avoided. Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal demanded the minister’s resignation. Sidhu’s arch-rival, Akali leader Bikram Majithia, also demanded that Sidhu’s wife be booked. “I demand immediate registration of case against people present on the stage, including Sidhu’s wife and arrest of those who gave permission for holding the function.”
Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar said Sidhu cannot be held responsible for anything that happens in his constituency. “Why should Sidhu resign? For what? Did he as local government minister force the municipal corporation to give its permission? There has been criminal negligence on part of some people. They should face the law. It is sad that Akalis and BJP are settling political scores during such a sad moment,” Jakhar said.
Sidhu, who rushed to Amritsar from Calicut on Saturday and accompanied CMCaptain Amarinder Singh to visit victims in hospitals, fought back from the frontfoot. He refused to react to those seeking his resignation or action against him. “It is not the time to indulge in political blame game. An accident should not turn political,” he said.
But with both SAD-BJP and Sidhu loyalists posting videos on Facebook and WhatsApp with counter claims, the issue has become a full-blown social-media war.
Punjab BJP spokesman Rajesh Honey, who contested against Sidhu from the Amritsar East seat in last year’s state polls, posted videos of event anchor Bawa Ludhianawale telling the crowd from stage in presence of Kaur that “5,000 people are on the rail tracks. They are not worried...500 trains pass from there.”
Honey says Navjot’s wife “fled the ground” after the train mowed down people. “The chief guest goes after the effigy of Ravan is burnt. How can she claim that she was not there and had left the venue when the accident happened? Had she reached the function on time, the effigy would have been burnt before 7pm and the tragedy could have been averted,” he says.
Sidhu’s wife denies the allegations. “When the event anchor said 5,000 people are standing on tracks, I asked the organisers if they had made an announcement to warn them. They told me they have made repeated announcements. I had to attend two more functions and got to know about the accident 15 minutes after I had left,” she said.
NAVJOT KAUR BLAMES RAILWAYS
Navjot Kaur said, “The celebrations are held at the same ground every year. The trains either stop or pass slowly at the speed of 30 km per hour. How can the Railways give a clean chit to the train driver without a probe? There were LED lights at the venue. The train has glass windows. Yet the driver couldn’t see a sea of people. Eyewitnesses say the train was running at a very high speed.”
Sidhu loyalists said a video of Bawa warning the crowd that they should be cautious has gone viral. Bawa, when contacted, said there is a time lag of half-an-hour between the two videos. “We warned them before the chief guest came. Later, I warned them again when she was on stage.”
BATTLE OVER GROUND
The ground on which the celebrations were held too became a political battlefield. Mandeep Singh Manna, a Congress rebel, who contested against Sidhu as an independent in 2017 polls, says he used to hold celebrations there till two years back.
“The ground is too small for the kind of crowd that gathers there. And it is near three rail tracks. The Railways does not give permission. We inform Railway employees at the fatak (rail crossing) and they ensure the trains stop or pass very slowly,” Manna said.
Manna, a known Sidhu-baiter, said, “There was a huge LED screen. The organisers had called singers and Sidhu’s wife. Her husband is a celebrity and a state minister. Could the organisers not have sounded Railway employees when they had put huge posters and banners to attract a huge crowd,” he said.