Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday alleged that the state government was pressurizing the Director General of Police (DGP) of Punjab to implicate former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and him in cases of sacrilege and police firing before questioning. . Sirsa Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was arrested by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The hearing of the sacrilege case is on November 12 and before that the SIT wants to question Sirsa Dera chief Ram Rahim.
Addressing the press conference on Sunday in the presence of Punjab Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) President Jasveer Singh Garhi, Badal while targeting the Congress government said that they are trying to hide their failures by trying to divert the attention of Badal.
Badal said the Akali Dal was committed to ensure justice in the matter and would take it up with utmost seriousness if voted to power in the 2022 elections. “It is sad for us that we could not deliver justice on this issue. I have already apologized to the Sikh Sangat. I still apologize. This happened because the Congress had pressurized us to hand over the investigation of sacrilege cases to the CBI. However, following the change at the helm of the government, the state moved the court to withdraw the case from the CBI, resulting in an extraordinary wait for justice. I want to make it clear to the Chief Minister, as well as the civil and police administration, that ensuring justice in the matter will be the top priority of the next SAD-BSP coalition government. Anyone who has implicated the innocent in the case will not only have to face judicial inquiry but will also be convicted.
Stating that Sikh Sangat and Punjabis are still waiting for justice in the matter, Badal said that he has prayed sincerely in the past that those indulging in the heinous crime of sacrilege as well as those who politicized the issue Nothing should remain. “Captain Amarinder did politics on this issue by basing his entire campaign on it. You have seen what happened to him. The Congress party is doing the same and will face the same fate.
Badal also hit out at the Punjab government for the alleged shortage of DAP during the wheat sowing season and for doing nothing to check the increase in the BSF’s jurisdiction in the state.
Taking a jibe at Congress state president Navjot Singh Sidhu, Badal also said that the appointment of Advocate General, DGP, CS and SSP was the prerogative of the Chief Minister alone.
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