Captain coward, not acting against firing accused: Bargari morcha
BARGARI (FARIDKOT): Upping the ante against the Congress government in the state, the Bargari morcha on Sunday dubbed chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh as coward for not taking action against those indicted by the Ranjit Singh Commission that probed the 2015 sacrilege incidents.
A large crowd converged here to mark the third anniversary of alleged police firings which led to death of two Sikh youths during protests against desecration cases. Anti-sacrilege protesters, who are staging a sit-in at Bargari since June 1, had organised the event. They had given the government a 15-day ultimatum on October 7 to take action against those indicted by Ranjit panel.
Addressing the gathering, parallel Akal Takht jathedar Dhian Singh Mand, who is the main face behind the Bargari sit-in, said: “We used to regard the Captain as a brave man, but he is a coward.”
“I will not let ‘morcha’ (protest) to be defeated at any cost till the justice in Bargari and Behbal Kalan police firing cases is done and I’m warning the state not to test our patience,” he said.
AAP’s Harpal Singh Cheema, who is also the leader of opposition and Bhagwant Mann shared the stage with party’s rebel MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira.
Cheema said when the Ranjit Singh Commission had indicted former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal for the police action on the protesters, then why was the Congress government trying to shield him. “Captain sahab is trying to shield Badal,” he alleged. Mann alleged that the intent of the Congress government “was not clear”. “The Punjab CM is also equally responsible as he is delaying the action. The Congress and Akalis are playing a friendly match,” Mann said.
Khaira said they would not rest until justice was done and all culprits were punished. He also suggested to launch a ‘Dharam Yudh Morcha’ from Amritsar to get justice. “Punjab and Kashmir are victims of the Centre’s discriminating policies,” he said.
Muktsar district Congress Committee president Gurmeet Singh Khudian was also seen on the stage from where the congregation’s key speakers were bashing Amarinder and Badal. Khudian was Captain’s covering candidate from Lambi in the 2017 assembly polls.
Besides Khudian, another surprise on the stage was Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) vice-president and SGPC member Bhai Manjit Singh, who had recently raised the banner of revolt against the party leadership.
THE ANTI-CENTRE STANCE
Deputy speaker of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Bir Devinder Singh blamed national security adviser Ajit Doval for “not letting the Amarinder Singh government act (in sacrilege cases)”. “Doval is not letting Congress government take action in these cases,” he alleged.Former Lok Sabha member Jagmeet Singh Brar, Apna Punjab Party chief Sucha Singh Chottepur and the Damdami Taksal leadership also attacked Amarinder and Badals.
Punjab minister Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa said the state government was duty-bound to give justice to the victims of the firing incidents and its perpetrators would be behind the bars soon. “Due to some legal issues with the probe, the matter is facing delays but those responsible would face the law,” he said during a visit to the victim’s family.
SIMRANJIT MANN’S SECESSIONIST RHETORIC
SAD (Amritsar) chief Simranjit Singh Mann began his speech with a pro- Khalistan slogan. “There is a government of the ‘Hindutva’ at the Centre and, thus, the Sikhs are not getting justice,” he said.