Punjab CM warns Badals they can''t escape from Bargari, Kotkapura firing cases

Tribune News Service
Faridkot, April 24

Upping the ante on the Badals, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Wednesday said they could not escape investigation in the Bargari and Kotkapura firing cases by getting an SIT officer shifted out by the “BJP-controlled” Election Commission.

Taking the Badals head-on over the Bargari and Kotkapura police firing incidents, the chief minister warned that they could not evade inquiry by using their influence with the ruling BJP to get DIG Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh shifted by the Election Commission from the SIT probing the case.

“The EC belongs to the BJP and they got the officer removed, despite the fact that even courts do not interfere in ongoing investigations,” he pointed out, declaring that the same officers would probe the case and take it to its logical conclusion once the elections are over.

“They (the Badals) have simply managed to delay the probe for some time, but they will eventually have to pay,” said the chief minister, vowing to ensure that nobody found guilty of the crime escapes punishment.

He was addressing a public gathering in Faridkot, in support of Congress candidate Mohd. Sadiq, who filed his nomination papers today.

Taking a dig at Prakash Singh Badal for claiming ignorance about the Bargari and Kotkapura firing, Capt Amarinder termed it a complete lie, pointing out that “no officer could have opened fire without orders from the top”.

The fact that they (the Badal government) did not accept the findings of their own Zora Singh Commission showed that they had something to hide, he said, pointing out that on the night of the incident, local Kotkapura Akali MLA Mantar Brar made 113 calls from the SHO’s office to the then chief minister.

“They knew everything but chose to keep quiet,” said the chief minister, observing that the Badals failed to take any action when the Guru Granth Sahib was being desecrated.

“Why did you not do anything then, Sukhbir? You were the home minister and the deputy chief minister, and your own father was the chief minister of the state,” asked Capt Amarinder.

Pointing to reports of Sukhbir going around threatening officers of the incumbent government, Capt Amarinder said it was a sign of his frustration. Both he and his wife, Harsimrat, will be defeated in these polls, he said.

“I will personally campaign in Bathinda and Ferozepur to ensure that the Sukhbir-Harsimrat Badal couple is forced to bite the dust in these Lok Sabha elections,” he declared, adding that even the BJP’s delaying tactics in not making the chopper available to him one week after it was hired by the Congress would not help the Badals.

Lashing out at the Badals for making the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) a family affair, the chief minister questioned their claim to being Akalis, who he said had played a very important role in the Gurdwara movement.

“They (Badals) have forgotten history and have defamed the Akal Takht,” he added.

Terming the current elections as a battle for the future of India, the chief minister said Narendra Modi’s ‘jumlas’ had won him the elections last time but people are now holding him accountable on those promises.

Far from fulfilling their promises, the BJP ruined the nation and its economy, and tried to rip apart the secular and democratic fabric of the country, he added, warning that the people of India would not forgive them.