Capt hits back at Channi, says capitulated to Badals to save his brother

Hitting back Channi, Amarinder said that actually it was other way round, as Channi had connived with and capitulated before the Badals to save his brother in the Ludhiana City Centre case

Former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Tuesday ridiculed chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s frequent accusations that he had “connived with the Badals” and harmed Punjab’s interests.

Capt Amarinder Singh.

Hitting back at his successor, Amarinder said that actually it was other way round, as Channi had connived with and capitulated before the Badals to save his brother in the Ludhiana City Centre case. “It is a classic case of pot calling the kettle black”, Capt Amarinder remarked, adding, “It is not me, but Mr Channi, who had pledged his support and conscience to Badals to save his brother”. Responding to Channi’s allegations, Capt Amarinder said, “Although I did not want to join issue with him (Channi), his frequent false accusations have forced me to reveal his capitulations before Sukhbir Singh Badal in 2007 to save his brother who was an accused along with me in the Ludhiana City Centre case”.

The two-time former CM said that he had put the Badals behind the bars in 2002 and in reprisal they had filed a false case against him, which he fought in the courts for 13 years, while Channi himself tried to buy peace with them to save his brother and pledged his support to them (Badals) in the Vidhan Sabha.

Capt Amarinder said that Channi, who at that time was an independent MLA, allied with the Badals to save his brother. “It is not me who had any understanding with Badals, but you who joined them to save your brother in the same case in which I was also an accused”, he said, adding that those living in glass houses should not throw stones on others.

“Had I aligned with the Badals and got some understanding with them, as you are accusing me of, I would not have faced the persecution for 13 years”, he reminded the chief minister, while challenging him to deny that he did not capitulate before Sukhbir Badal and begged pardon for his brother.

Amarinder resigned as the Punjab chief minister on September 18 after a bitter tussle with Navjot Singh Sidhu and revolt by four ministers and several party legislators amid infighting in the state Congress. The party later picked Channi as the next chief minister of the state. The veteran leader has since quit the Congress and announced his separate party, Punjab Lok Congress.