Rajmeet Singh
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 29
Congress MLAs have come out openly against their own government, seeking action against the chief of SIT probing the sacrilege cases.
Joined by two Cabinet ministers, the legislators are expected to call upon Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, seeking action against those who wrote to the CBI to continue with the investigation after the Central agency filed its closure report in the Bargari cases.
The development comes three days after the CM opposed the CBI move to reopen probe into certain issues raised by Special Task Force (STF) chief Pramod Kumar.
Miffed at the changed public perception of the Congress government “playing double-game on taking action against the culprits in sacrilege cases”, the legislators want the CM to clear the air on faux pas committed by the Punjab Police, be it differences among the STF members on content of the chargesheet or writing to the CBI to reprobe the cases.
Qadian MLA Fateh Jang Bajwa said, “The CBI has no right to continue the probe after the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution to withdrawn probe from it. The STF chief should have kept the CM and the DGP in the loop.”
Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has already said the STF’s letter was contradictory to the government stand and the CM must clear the air since it is breach of privilege of the House.
Rural Development Minister Tript Rajinder Bajwa said instead of raising the issue in the media, he would prefer to discuss it with the CM.
Another legislator from Malwa (who is close to the CM) said, “We owe an explanation to the people. It is not the officers. We have little time left before it is too late.”
Amritsar (South) MLA Inderbir Bolaria said, “We are answerable to the people. I had quit the SAD on this issue. We must expose those behind delaying investigations before it gets too late. Those writing to the CBI should be held accountable and those behind sacrilege incidents be put behind bars.”
Attempts to contact Pramod Kumar remained futile.
Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa alleged that it was an attempt to save the guilty in sacrilege cases and mislead the public. “The government is seeking a copy of the closure report rather than objecting to the investigation having been conducted by the CBI,” he said.
On the letter written by the STF head to the CBIfor further investigation, Bajwa said, “Why did the state not file a petition before the High Court seeking compliance of its judgment, wherein the notification by the government was upheld on the basis of which the cases were sought to be investigated by the Punjab Police and not by the CBI”.
The CBI has no right to continue
"The probe after the Punjab Assembly passed a resolution to withdrawn probe from it. The STF chief should have kept the CM and the DGP in the loop." — Fateh Jang Bajwa, Qadian MLA
The Special
"Task Force’s letter to CBI is contradictory to the government stand and Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh must clear the air since it is a breach of privilege of the House." —Sukhjinder Randhawa, Cooperation Minister
"It is an attempt to save the guilty in sacrilege cases and mislead the public. The government is seeking a copy of the closure report rather than objecting to the investigation having been conducted by the CBI."—Partap Singh Bajwa, Rajya Sabha MP