CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh asserted that there was no question of backing out of his promise to bring to book the culprits of the Bargari sacrilege case and the Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura firings.
He rejected allegations that the situation in Bargari was getting out of control. “Everyone knew that some people were trying to politicise the issue, but the people want peace and will not get carried away by the attempts of such elements to take political mileage from it,” he said to a media query that if Bargari was becoming a rallying point for radicals.
Amarinder warned radicals against trying to disturb the hard-earned peace of Punjab. Asked if he supported the radicals to get control of the SGPC, the CM said he had never had any link with such groups, adding he would support any moderate Sikh group to get control of the SGPC as he wanted the Badals out of it. “They have ruined the gurdwaras,” he said, adding that Badal was not a moderate but an “opportunist who uses people of all shades to meet political ends”.
The decision to hand over the investigation to the SIT was unanimously taken in the Vidhan Sabha, he said. “The government had initially decided to entrust the probe to the CBI, but the House decided against it out of fear that the federal agency could get influenced because of the BJP’s alliance with the Akalis.”
The CM said the police had detected all the 157 cases of sacrilege reported in the state. “129 people were arrested and 10 convicted.”
In response to another question, Amarinder said ISI had, for long, been active in Punjab and could be operating through Kashmiri students. However, he said, every student from Kashmir was not a terrorist and the police had so far not established any links of the arrested students with locals.
On the issue of stubble burning, he said the situation could aggravate once harvesting is complete. While his sympathies were with the farmers, he was bound by law to take action against those indulging in burning of paddy straw, he added. Amarinder noted that the Prime Minister had failed to respond to his repeated pleas for compensation to farmers against stubble burning.