Amarinder’s Tarn Taran visit mere photo-op: SAD
CHANDIGARH:THE Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday termed chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s visit to Tarn Taran to meet the families of the hooch tragedy victims a mere photo-op and joyride, saying he shared the stage with Congress MLAS who were accused of making the disaster happen.
Talking to the mediapersons while being taken to police station following their detention by Chandigarh Police as they march towards the Punjab governor’s house to stage a dharna, former Akali minister Bikram Majithia and party’s Rajya Sabha member Balwinder Bhunder demanded immediate dismissal of the Amarinder Singh government.
“The the truth is that he paid a 20-minute visit to the Tarn Taran police lines that was turned into an army cantonment as the Congress government feared a backlash from the people,” they said.
“People were summoned as if it was a durbar. A large number of them refused to come despite intense pressure from police deputed specifically for the purpose,” said Majitha.
The two, who were flanked by relatives of the victims from Muchal village in Amritsar, said, “Instead of humiliating the victims’ kin by behaving like a feudal lord, he should have visited their houses and announced a compensation of Rs 25 lakh and a government job for each family.”
‘CM CUT SHORT VISIT FEARING PUBLIC ANGER’
In Tarn Taran, addressing a press conference after a protest, SAD spokesman Virsa Singh Valtoha said the CM chose to return to Chandigarh within 15 minutes of getting down from his helicopter after he learntof a massive protest nearby by the families of the tragedy victims.
Valtoha was accompanied by former MLA Harmeet Singh Sandhu and party’s ex-district president Iqbal Singh Sandhu, said, “But even after coming here he could not face them and chose to retreat to his farmhouse in Chandigarh.”