Sidhu calls for ouster of DGP, AG; CM says will consult him
CHANDIGARH/MORINDA: Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Sunday again raked up the demand for replacement of the state’s police chief and advocate general, saying that their appointments are like “rubbing salt on the wounds of the victims of the sacrilege issue”. Hours after the statement, chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi assured that the appointments will be finalised after consultation with Sidhu and other ministers.
“Demand for Justice in Sacrilege cases and for the arrest of main culprits behind the drug trade brought our Govt in 2017 & Due to his failure, People removed the last CM. Now, AG/DG appointments rub salt on the wounds of victims, they must be replaced or we will have No face!! (sic),” Sidhu said in a Twitter post.
The cricketer-turned-politician, who has made the Bargari sacrilege issue the main poll plank ahead of next year’s assembly polls, has been demanding the removal of DGP Iqbal Preet Singh Sahota and AS Deol for their roles in the 2015 desecration of a religious text in Punjab’s Faridkot district. Two people were killed in police firing on those protesting the sacrilege.
While Sahota led the investigation into the case under the then Parkash Singh Badal-led government, Deol was a counsel for former Punjab DGP Sumedh Singh Saini and had represented him in cases related to police firing on Sikhs protesting against the sacrilege cases.
The incident is one of the issues driving the feud between former chief minister Amarinder Singh and Sidhu, which escalated last month after Singh stepped down from the post of Punjab CM, claiming that he was “humiliated three times” by the Congress’s leadership. The party high command then chose Channi for the top post in Punjab.
However, a day after the new Cabinet was sworn in, Sidhu put in his papers on September 28, citing Deol’s appointment as one of the reasons for his sudden decision to quit as Punjab Congress president. Hours later, however, he changed his decision after Channi reached out to him and they agreed to set up a coordination panel for key deci
sions in the Punjab government. In an attempt to placate Sidhu, on October 1, the Channi government-appointed RS Bains as Special Public Prosecutor to handle all the sacrilege-related cases.
Touching upon the issue on the sidelines of a government event on Sunday, Channi said: “There is not going to be any laxity against those who indulged in the desecration of the Guru (Granth Sahib). Legs may be severed but will not falter, I can assure you.”
He added that his government had already forwarded the names of IPS officers with 30 years of experience to the central government and was waiting for the panel of three names from them. “Thereafter, the name of the new DGP will be finalized in consultation with the PPCC chief (Sidhu), all ministers and MLAS. I have told Sidhu Saab and he already knows the names of the police officers.”
The state government has sent the names of 10 police officers to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) for the appointment of a regular DGP.
To a question, Channi said his government will take everyone along and perform with honesty. “The party work is being looked after by Sidhu sahab. We should both work in coordination and we are doing so. If anything is not being liked, then we have set up a coordination committee at the party forum where we can discuss it,” he added.