A day after Punjab Congress chief Capt Amarinder Singh demanded removal of State’s former top cop Sumedh Singh Saini for carrying out fake encounters, the Congress and ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have crossed their swords over issue, with both blaming each other. While the Congress has asked the SAD to clarify its stand about Saini’s role during militancy in view of recent allegations levelled by former cop Gurmeet Singh ‘Pinky’, the Akali Dal had hit back at Capt Amarinder reminding him that all allegations of fake encounters pertained to the era of the Congress Governments at the Centre and State.
“Captain’s statement is the strongest proof through admission that his party ordered these killings...You have, in fact, finally but unwittingly conceded that the hands of the party you belonged to then and are heading now are drenched with the blood of innocent Punjabis, especially of the Sikh youth,” said the SAD general secretary Harcharan Singh Bains.
He said, “Regardless of whether your allegations of fake encounters against Saini are right or wrong, your statement is the first open and brazen admission by you that you had knowledge of the Congress Governments indulging in genocide of the Sikhs and using the police and the army for this purpose.”
“You need to do a lot of explaining about why you continue to be in a party which even according to you ordered these extra judicial killings of thousands of innocent Sikh youth in a massive genocide of the Sikhs merely to teach a lesson to the community as desired by Indira and Rajiv Gandhi,” said Bains.
He also asked the State Congress chief to explain to the people of Punjab as to what action did he take against those guilty of these fake encounters when he was the CM for full five years.
Responding to Bains’ statement defending Saini, senior Congress leaders including MlAs Sukhjinder Randhawa, Kewal Singh Dhillon, Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi, Rana Gurjeet Singh and Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, in a joint statement said that it was surprising that the same Akali Dal which used to level serious allegations against Saini had now come to his defence.
The Congress leaders reiterated that Capt Amarinder has made a genuine and justified demand for Saini’s removal since the allegations against him have been made by a cop, who has been witness to everything. Ridiculing SAD question as why Capt Amarinder did not take action against Saini when he was the CM, they pointed out that the cases were already going on against Saini during his Chief Ministership in the courts.