Bhagwant Mann has lost moral authority to remain in office after Amritsar blasts: Sukhbir Badal

Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday said chief minister Bhagwant Mann had lost all moral authority to remain in office by not doing anything to prevent repeated bomb attacks in Amritsar

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday said chief minister Bhagwant Mann had lost all moral authority to remain in office after “failing the Sikh community and Punjabis” by not doing anything to prevent repeated bomb attacks in the vicinity of the holiest of Sikh shrines, Sri Darbar Sahib.

Badal asserted if Darbar Sahib, which was venerated across the world, was not safe then nothing was safe in Punjab. (HT Photo/Sameer Sehgal)

Talking to mediapersons after appearing before the Amritsar district court in connection with the 2021 case registered against him for allegedly obstructing process of mining, the SAD president said instead of paying a visit here and taking stock of the situation the chief minister had remained busy in publicity stunts. “The chief minister even ordered an Operation Vigil on the border as part of this publicity drive but did not intensify efforts to nail down culprits,” he said.

Badal asserted if Darbar Sahib, which was venerated across the world, was not safe then nothing was safe in Punjab. He said the chief minister had also failed as home minister by failing to carry out an intensive drive to arrest the culprits behind the heinous crime. “Even this responsibility was carried out by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee which nabbed the culprits responsible for the bomb blasts,” he said.

Asserting that the recent events pointed to a complete intelligence failure, Badal said it had been made worse by an administrative collapse. “The state is no longer able to safeguard life and property of its people. This has led to a sense of insecurity amongst the common man and even loss to hoteliers and businesses in the holy city particularly”.