AAP, SAD SLAM CONG GOVT FOR ‘KEEPING SESSION SHORT’

CHANDIGARH: The opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday hit out at the Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress government for scheduling a three-day assembly session, terming the “short duration” as a “cruel joke”.

Leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema said the Congress government had kept the assembly session “brief” to avoid embarrassment due to unfulfilled promises. The Dirba MLA urged the assembly speaker Rana KP Singh to make provision for ‘live telecast’ of the assembly proceedings.

AAP dissident group leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira also termed the session with “brief duration” as a cruel joke.

“.. it is actually only a 2-day session as 24th will witness only obituary references and then two weekend holidays! People’s issues will suffer,” he tweeted.

SAD president Sukhbir Badal accused the government of reducing the period the assembly session to prevent his party from exposing its false promises. “If the Captain-led government has fulfilled its promise, it must face our questions boldly,” he tweeted.

Sukhbir later demanded a longer, 10 to 15-day assembly session.

Rupnagar and Patiala districts, part 3 is related to incidents in SBS Nagar (Nawanshahr) and Hoshiarpur. Part 4 relates to sacrilege incidents in Amritsar, Bathinda, Barnala, Faridkot, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Gurdaspur, Jalandhar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Mansa, Moga, Sangrur, Sri Muktsar Sahib and Tarn Taran.

CONG TO CORNER SAD

The Congress is planning to use the commission’s reports to try and corner the opposition Shiromani Akali Dal, which has been blamed for the incidents of desecration of Guru Granth Sahib in 2016 that had rocked the then SAD-BJP government headed by Parkash Singh Badal. However, it had to face embarrassment when the 192-page first report, which had been termed highly confidential by none other than the chief minister, got leaked and was shared on social media.

Acting on the commission’s first report, the government on July 30 handed over the probe into the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan firing that followed the Bargari sacrilege to the Central Bureau of Investigation. Later, the state police included the names of four police personnel in the FIR registered in 2015 in the Behbal Kalan firing. In accordance with the panel’s recommendations, the roles of five other police officers will be investigated, the spokesperson said. As for the Kotkapura firing, a case under Sections 307/323/341/148/149 of IPC and 27/54/59 of the Arms Act was registered on August 7, as per the commission’s recommendation.

The commission was set up by the Amarinder government in April 2017 to investigate the incidents of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and other religious texts. The government rejected the Zora Singh Commission, set up by the erstwhile SADBJP government, terming it inconclusive.