CHANDIGARH: SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of blocking the release of Davinder Pal Singh Bhullar again, a 1993 Delhi bomb blast case convict, alleging the AAP leader had "finally bared his true anti-Sikh and anti-Punjab fangs".
Badal hit out at Kejriwal after the Sentence Review Board (SRB) headed by Delhi Home Minister Satyendar Jain on Wednesday deferred the decision on the early release of Bhullar who is currently lodged in Amritsar jail.
The matter has been put off till the next SRB meeting, a Delhi government official said.
Bhullar was convicted in connection with the killing of nine people and injuring 31 in the blast.
Among those who survived the attack are former Youth Congress chief M S Bitta.
Bhullar was awarded the death penalty by a designated TADA court in August 2001 but his capital punishment was commuted to life sentence by the Supreme Court in 2014.
He was shifted to Amritsar Central Jail from Delhi's Tihar Jail on health grounds in June, 2015.
In a statement, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president alleged, "Kejriwal's hypocrisy and villainy stands exposed and his sidekicks in Punjab, Bhagwant Mann and Harpal Cheema, now have a lot to answer for to Punjabis in general and Sikhs in particular on their party's anti-Sikh and anti-Punjab role."
On deferring the decision of Bhullar's release, Badal alleged, "It is the first shock of reality check to those who were foolish enough to trust Kejriwal's promises on Bhullar during the polls and didn't believe us when we pointed out his anti-Sikh communal mindset. The man is full of venom for Sikhs. I'm afraid more shocks to AAP supporters will follow soon."
Badal said the SAD's fact-based allegations against the AAP and its national convener stood fully vindicated.
"Kejriwal kept lying to Sikhs and befooling them with fake, villainous smiles all through the election campaign, saying he had ordered the review committee to meet and reconsider its earlier decision blocking Bhullar's release," he said.
As soon as the polls ended, the AAP national convenor was "quick to reveal his true feline colours", the SAD chief said, adding, "The cat is truly out of the bag."
The Akali chief claimed that Kejriwal had first denied that Bhullar's case was under the purview of his government, saying it was for Government of India to decide.
"It was only after we exposed him by releasing copies of his own government's orders on the matter that he smiled sheepishly and admitted it was indeed his government which had blocked the release. He, however, promised to get the decision reversed by a committee headed by his home minister," Badal claimed.