Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh concluded the debate on the Justice Ranjit Singh (retd) Commission report in the assembly by saying there was no question of going soft on former CM Parkash Singh Badal, whom he blamed squarely for the “damage caused to the state and its people with his grave acts of commission and omission”.
Amarinder’s “no vendetta” line against the Badals had invited criticism from within the Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for going soft on them. The CM also came down heavily on other SAD leaders, including its president Sukhbir Singh Badal, his wife and Union minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal, her brother and former Akali minister Bikram Singh Majithia saying they did not even visit those injured in the police firing at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura.
“The Congress had made an election promise to bring the truth of the Bargari sacrilege case and the subsequent firing incidents to the people of Punjab. I have seen Badal from close quarters, he is a coward and liar. He lodged false cases against me and I was even turned out of the assembly and had to be reinstated by the Supreme Court. Badal was directly to blame for Operation Bluestar as whenever there was any scope of negotiation, Badal would sabotage the efforts and run away after promising the hardliners of his support. History will be scripted of our times and Badal would not be spared,” the CM said.
He pointed out that former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, on the last day before his retirement, had given a statement to the Jutice Ranjit Singh (retd) Commission that he had spoken to then CM Badal before the firing incident. “How the then CM could have been sleeping, as claimed by him, at such a grave time for the state. It was not done for a leader to blame his subordinates. Badal was obviously not a leader in the true sense of the word,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He pointed out that former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, on the last day before his retirement, had given a statement to the Jutice Ranjit Singh (retd) Commission that he had spoken to then CM Badal before the firing incident. “How the then CM could have been sleeping, as claimed by him, at such a grave time for the state. It was not done for a leader to blame his subordinates. Badal was obviously not a leader in the true sense of the word,” he said.
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