Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu questions AG stand in HC on STF drug report

JALANDHAR: A day after Punjab advocate general A P S Deol attacked Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu and accused him of “obstructing the functioning of the government and the office of the advocate general”, the PCC chief hit back at him with a series of tweets.
Turning up the heat on his appointing authority, Sidhu asked Deol: “Are you acting at the behest of those who appointed you in this constitutional office and fulfilling their political gains? Did you advise the government to challenge the blanket bail order procured by you or any other adverse order in sacrilege cases in Supreme Court?”

He questioned the stand taken by Deol in the Punjab and Haryana high court on the issue of acting on STF report on drugs and accused him of “shielding the inaction of the government under the guise of your own unknown ethics” and of his “earnest inaction is clearly subverting justice rather than ensuring it”.
A month after announcing his resignation as state Congress chief, Sidhu withdrew it on Friday, but said he would resume charge only after AG is replaced and a new panel (with the name of the new DGP) named. But, on Saturday, not only did chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi sound assertive, saying justice would be done and that he was not a weak CM, even Deol issued a statement, unprecedented from an AG office, attacking Sidhu. “Mr AG-Punjab, justice is blind but people of Punjab are not. Our party came in power with a promise to give justice in sacrilege cases, in which you appeared before the high court for main conspirators/accused persons and made serious allegations against our gov(ernmen)t. You specifically prayed for transferring the investigation to CBI as you were afraid of their false implication in sacrilege cases on accounts of malafide, malice and ulterior motives on the part of political party in power in Punjab,” he said. “Today, you are representing the same government of same political party in power and accusing me of spreading misinformation, whereas I am fighting for justice in sacrilege cases and you were procuring blanket bails for accused persons. May I know which interest (vested or otherwise) were you acting for when you appeared for the main conspirators and procured blanket bail for them and which interest, you are acting now?
“You appeared for the accused, now representing the state and very soon you will seek elevation as a judge so that you can decide this case. Being the highest law officer, your focus is on politics and political gains. Leave politics to politicians and focus on your personal conscience, integrity and professional ethics, which your job requires,” tweeted Sidhu.
On the drugs case, Sidhu tweeted: “In the hearing of drugs case in high court on 05.10.2021, upon being asked what is stopping govt from taking action on the basis of STF report filed in HC, you replied: ‘It would be ethically wrong to proceed without court’s nod’. May I know what is unethical in proceeding against the accused persons on the basis of STF report who are responsible for narcotics-terrorism in Punjab and have put the state in danger of losing an entire generation to drug abuse? Did hon’ble high court stop you? Hon’ble high court itself gave a copy of the STF report to our government for consideration and you are shielding the inaction of the government under the guise of your own unknown ethics.” Sidhu ended: “I believe that ethics is about the way things ought to be, not about the way things are. Ethical people often do more than law requires and less than it allows. When it comes to ethics, motive is very important. A person of character does the right thing for right reason with right motive... Your earnest inaction is clearly subverting justice... than ensuring it.” In his statement against Sidhu on Saturday Deol had also said, “His repeated utterances seek to derail the earnest efforts of the state government to ensure justice in the ‘dugs matter’ and the ‘sacrilege cases’, Shri Navjot Singh Sidhu is spreading misinformation to gain political advantage over his political colleagues.
There is concerted attempt by vested interests to malign the functioning of the Congress party in view of coming elections in Punjab for their selfish political gain by politicising the constitutional office of the Advocate General of Punjab.” However, on Saturday not only did chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi sound assertive, saying justice would be done and that he was not a weak CM, but even Deol issued a statement, unprecedented from an AG office, attacking Sidhu.
“Mr AG-Punjab, Justice is blind but people of Punjab are not. Our Congress party came in power with a promise to give justice in Sacrilege Cases, in which you appeared before the High Court for main conspirators/accused persons and made serious allegations against our Govt. Further, You specifically prayed for transferring the investigation to CBI as you were afraid of their false implication in Sacrilege cases on accounts of malafide, malice and ulterior motives on the part of political party in power in the state of Punjab,” he said.
“Today, you are representing the same Government of same political party in power and accusing me of spreading misinformation, whereas, I am fighting for justice in Sacrilege cases and you were procuring blanket bails for the accused persons. May I know which interest (vested or otherwise) were you acting for when you appeared for the main conspirators and procured blanket bail for them and which interest, you are acting now?
“You appeared for the accused, now representing the state and very soon you will seek elevation as a judge so that you can decide this case. Being the highest law officer, your focus is on politics and political gains. Leave the politics to the politicians and focus on your personal conscience, integrity and professional ethics, which your job requires,” tweeted the Punjab Congress president.
On the drugs case, Sidhu tweeted: “In the hearing of Drugs case in High Court on 05.10.2021, upon being asked that what is stopping Govt. for taking action on the basis of STF Report filed in High Court, you replied that “It would be ethically wrong to proceed in the matter without the Court’s Nod.” May I know what is unethical in proceeding against the accused persons on the basis of STF Report who are responsible for narcotics-terrorism in Punjab and has put India’s most prosperous state in danger of losing an entire generation to drug abuse? Did Hon’ble High Court stop you? Hon’ble High Court itself gave a copy of the STF report to our Government for consideration and you are shielding the inaction of the Government under the guise of your own unknown Ethics.”
Sidhu concluded his attack, saying: “I believe that Ethics is about the way things ought to be, not about the way things are. Ethical people often do more than law requires and less than it allows. When it comes to ethics, motive is very important. A person of character does the right thing for right reason with right motive. Your earnest inaction is clearly subverting justice rather than ensuring it.”
In his statement against Sidhu on Saturday Deol had also said, “His repeated utterances seek to derail the earnest efforts of the state government to ensure justice in the ‘dugs matter’ and the ‘sacrilege cases’, Shri Navjot Singh Sidhu is spreading misinformation to gain political advantage over his political colleagues. There is concerted attempt by vested interests to malign the functioning of the Congress party in view of coming elections in Punjab for their selfish political gain by politicising the constitutional office of the Advocate General of Punjab.”