Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh has again promised to reinvestigate the sacrilege cases of Bargari and Baath villages near here and punish the culprits, if his party comes to power in the state next year.
Addressing a political conference that former Khadoor Sahib legislator Ramanjit Singh Sikki organised here on Wednesday to mark Gurta Gaddi Diwas of Guru Angad Dev, Amarinder hinted at fielding him from the same assembly segment. “I will not let his resignation in protest against the sacrilege incidents go waste,” he said.
“After local Congress leaders Pardeep Chopra and Gurdev Bittu withdrew their applications for candidature, ticket to Sikki is almost final, awaiting only the consent of the party president,” he said. “The candidate list will be out once (Congress chief) Sonia Gandhi gets well.”
Blaming chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal, and cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia for the desecration of copies of Guru Granth Sahib, Amarinder said: “He (Badal) wanted to polarise people and create a sense of fear.”
Raking up the issue of Punjab’s reorganisation in 1966, the former CM said: “Akalis launched the Punjabi Suba movement just to attain power, which only a Sikhmajority state could lead them to.” If the Congress came to power, it would finish the problem of drugs in four months, extend welfare schemes for the Scheduled Castes to the OBCs (Other Backward Classes) and landless farmers, Captain said, accusing the CM of shying away from settling farmers’ debts.
{{/usCountry}}Raking up the issue of Punjab’s reorganisation in 1966, the former CM said: “Akalis launched the Punjabi Suba movement just to attain power, which only a Sikhmajority state could lead them to.” If the Congress came to power, it would finish the problem of drugs in four months, extend welfare schemes for the Scheduled Castes to the OBCs (Other Backward Classes) and landless farmers, Captain said, accusing the CM of shying away from settling farmers’ debts.
{{/usCountry}}MLAs Rana Gurjeet Singh, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, and Gurchet Bhullar, former minister Sukhpal Singh Bhullar, Harmandir Singh Gill, Dharamvir Agnihotri, and Mamta Dutta were present.
Read | Navjot Sidhu fits better in comedy shows, says Amarinder