DGP has apologised; everybody makes mistakes: CM Amarinder Singh

CHANDIGARH: Coming to the defence of Punjab Police chief DGP Dinkar Gupta, who is under fire for his remarks on potential misuse of Kartarpur corridor, Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said the corridor would remain open regardless of security concerns. He, meanwhile, underlined the need for vigilance against Pakistan’s nefarious designs.
A day after both opposition parties in SAD and AAP demanded the DGP’s dismissal, Capt Amarinder defended him and said, “The DGP had apologised; everybody makes mistakes; even I make mistakes, we are human beings.” He asked if there was anyone from the opposition who could claim not to have made mistakes. “We all make mistakes, this issue is over now. Let us concentrate on peace and on ensuring that the difficult times through which Punjab had been do not recur,” he added.
Speaking on the third day of the budget session, Amarinder said, “We will not let Kartarpur corridor be closed down.” The apprehensions of threat to the security of the people and the country were, however, “serious”, he said, adding that these fears were not “because the corridor has been opened but because of the bad intent of Pakistan”.
“Kartarpur Sahib corridor has been opened because we wanted it to be opened; every Punjabi wanted it and had prayed for it in daily ardas every day, along with praying for opening of Nankana Sahib, Panja Sahib and other gurdwaras,” said Amarinder, urging the governments of India and Pakistan to work for the opening of these shrines too.
He also pointed out that 35,000 Punjabis and 1,700 policemen had lost their lives, in addition to the Army soldiers, during the years of militancy in the state. Amarinder said, “It is our responsibility is to ensure this does not happen again.”
Earlier, the CM requested speaker Rana KP Singh for permission to make his statement before the question hour. He assured people through the House, that he was extremely happy that the corridor had been opened, thanks to the collective efforts.
“My government was party to the decision to open up the corridor. The whole of my government, including ministers and officers of various departments, worked tirelessly for the launch of the Kartarpur Sahib corridor to coincide with the 550th anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev in November 2019,” said Amarinder.
Amarinder said his government had classified documents, which he could not circulate in the House. After meddling in Kashmir for long, the ISI had only one task now – to disturb the peace of Punjab, he said, adding that Pakistan was blatantly trying to foment trouble in the state.
Showing pictures of Chinese drones, Amarinder said these had been seized from a man swimming through Ravi but there might be others that had not been caught.