Former Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday said that Amarinder Singh’s allegations against the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on the issue of sacrilege was an attempt to divert attention from the failures of his government.
“The ruling Congress government has miserably failed to perform on every front, including the farmers’ debt waiver, drug eradication, jobs for every youth and raising old age pensions four times,” said Mr. Badal at a rally in Abohar.
“Capt. Amarinder should demonstrate the courage to prosecute and try us (Akali Dal leaders) in a court of law if there is any shred of truth in his allegations against us on the sacrilege issue,” he said, adding that the Chief Minister was indulging in petty and destructive vendetta politics.
Mr. Badal said that he and his party had always stood for a fair inquiry into all cases of sacrilege by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court and this was the reason that Akali Dal had rejected the report of Ranjit Singh Commission.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal alleged that the Congress was trying to revive extremism by supporting radicals in the State. “The Congress was facilitating the ongoing ‘dharna’ at Bargari being held on the issue of sacrilege and actively encouraging radical elements,” he alleged.