Chandigarh: Former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today asked the Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh” to put a stop to the high drama being enacted in the name of a probe into the Kot Kapura and Behbal Kalaan incidents and instead “to tell me where I should come and offer myself for arrest, since this is the sole aim of the on-going political witch-hunt.
“ Even before any inquiry was instituted or started into these incidents, Captain Amarinder Singh, PPCC Chief Sunil Jakhar and their senior party and cabinet colleagues had been pronouncing me guilty. Everyone knows how fair a probe can be after that, ” Mr Badal told media persons here this evening
Badal who was unwell and had proceeded on leave from Vidhan Sabha session after informing the Speaker of his indisposition, rushed back from his village to Chandigarh his morning when he learn that the State Counsel had named him as guilty and that the CM had reiterated his veiled threat against him.
On arrival in Chandigarh, he rang up the state DGP Mr Dinkar Gupta and told him that he was available in Chandigarh today for arrest and could wait if they needed time. “Otherwise, I am available for arrest whenever, wherever you want me.” He told the DGP
“ All my life I have faced repression, torture and political vendetta of the worst kind from the anti Sikh and anti-Punjab congress party. But no one and nothing has ever succeeded in deterring me from the path of standing by my convictions and fighting for the interests of the Khalsa Panth, Punjab and the country”
Badal said, “My life has been an open book before the people. Those who rolled tanks into Sri Harmandar Sahib, destroyed Sri Akal Takhat Sahib, put hundreds of saroops of Shri guru granth Sahib to flames and killed thousands of innocent Sikhs in 1984 cannot change the script of that book.”
The former Chief Minister further said, “There is no point in targeting and playing havouc with and harassing the whole state administration. All this is being done only to create a political climate to justify the final goal of feeding their lust for vendetta and hatred for me , which can be satisfied only by putting me behind bars .”
But, said Mr Badal,the real motive behind all this truly was to weaken the SAD and Sikh and institutions, something which they have been conspiring unsuccessfully to do ever since independence.”
Badal said that he did not want anyone else to suffer or be harassed unnecessarily in this on-going vendetta politics. “I urge the Chief Minister to cry a halt to this tamasha and stop harassing and humiliating others. I am ready to offer myself for arrest any day, any time and anywhere Captain Amarinder Singh wants me to, so that the energies of the government machinery are not frittered away and the state can move on with the job of normal governance which lies dead today.”
He said that the state and the country are passing through a very critical period at this juncture and could ill afford to divert the attention of the administration away from the primary task of maintaining peace and communal harmony. “Playing petty and cheap politics at this point of time can lead the state back to the dark old days . The CM seems totally unaware of the dangerous fall-out of his neglect of administration and his focus only political vengefulness. That is why I wish to put an end to all this,” he said.
Badal said that the Chief Minister and his senior political colleagues have abandoned even the need to pretend to respect the law of the land and have been openly declaring the outcome of the probe even before the SIT completes its investigations. It was the same thing with the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission probe in which the CM declared me guilty even before setting up the Commission. He has now gone to the extent of declaring on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha that his vendetta will reach the “highest level.” Everyone knows what he means by “the highest level.” So why waste the state’s time on hypocrisy? I offer myself for arrest so that the state’s energies are not put to destructive waste any longer.”