Capt, Jakhar hit out at Badal for calling probe ‘political vendetta’

AMARINDER HAS DUBBED IT AS A DESPERATE ATTEMPT BY BADAL TO DIVERT PUBLIC ATTENTION

CHANDIGARH: A day after former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal was questioned by the special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2015 sacrilege and police firing cases, Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar hit out at the Akali Dal patriarch for calling the probe a "political vendetta".

Amarinder said it was a desperate attempt by Badal to divert public attention from the ongoing SIT investigation against him in the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan firing cases.

Accusing Badal of playing the victim by claiming that no democratically elected CM had been ever called for questioning in Independent India, Amarinder said “it seems age had caught up with him and he was suffering from amnesia”.

“Under your government, I was summoned and questioned on frivolous charges at the Patiala circuit house," he said. Reacting to Badal’s charge that the SIT was working under his “influence”, the CM said the government’s job was over after it handed over the probe to SIT.

He said his government had no role whatsoever either in the ongoing investigations or their outcome, and it was absolutely ridiculous for Badal to even suggest that the SIT report will be written by Punjab’s advocate general. “Unlike you, Mr Badal, I believe in the law of the land and fair investigations," he said.

Addressing a presser, Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar said Badal was answerable to not just police firing victims at Kotkapura but Behbal Kalan, where two protesters were killed.

“Badal cannot escape responsibility for his actions by just blame-game. He said he is not scared of any probe. It reeks of sheer arrogance. If as the CM, he had acted on time, the firing at Behbal Kalan, which took place four hours after Kotkapura, would not have taken place,” Jakhar said.

He added, “It is a Panthic party that opened fire on people protesting against sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib. Badal (Senior) and SAD president Sukhbir Badal need to answer who asked then DGP Sumedh Saini to use force against peaceful protesters," he said.