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Sacrilege incidents handiwork of disruptive forces, says Punjab CM
Terming recent sacrilege incidents of holy books the handiwork of forces hell-bent on destabilising the state in an election year, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal said the state government was duty-bound to put the culprits behind bars.
Terming recent sacrilege incidents of holy books the handiwork of forces hell-bent on destabilising the state in an election year, chief minister Parkash Singh Badal said the state government was duty-bound to put the culprits behind bars.
Interacting with the media after paying tributes to Sawinder Kaur Kahlon, wife of former speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon, on her first death anniversary here on Sunday, the CM said forces wary of the peace and progress of the state were continuously perpetuating sacrilege incidents.
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Replying to a query, Badal said Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal’s visit to the state would have no impact on the Punjab politics. He said Punjabis were wise enough to judge between friends and foes. “Kejriwal is welcome to visit the state, but it will not help improve AAPs fortunes in Punjab,” said Badal.
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To another question, the CM said Punjab was the rightful owner of Chandigarh and river waters of the state. “As per universally accepted principles, Haryana neither has any right on Chandigarh nor on river waters of the state,” he said, adding every new state carved out of parent state has developed its own capital city so Haryana has no right on Chandigarh. “As per riparian principle, Haryana could not claim even a single drop of river water from Punjab,” he added.
Terming the Akali-BJP alliance firm and everlasting, Badal said it would contest the 2017 assembly polls together, adding that any meeting on seat-sharing was yet to take place and the two alliance partners would take a call on it at “an appropriate time”.
