Asking Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to come out of his hibernation and break his self imposed “vow of silence”, Congress Deputy leader in the lok Sabha Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday said that the Chief Minister has again let down the State by virtually running away from the situation and leaving his second rung leaders to defend him and his Government.
Amarinder rejected the Akali Dal allegations of the Congress hand in Sarbat Khalsa. Referring to the purported phone recordings claimed to be those of Congress leaders, he said, “These are totally concocted and our leaders have already rejected these allegations”.
At the same time, he asked, “By claiming to be in possession of the telephone recordings of our leaders, hasn’t the Government admitted that it has been tapping the telephones of political opponents which is a serious criminal offenceIJ” Otherwise, he added, how come they are in possession of these recordingsIJ
The former Chief Minister said, it was so characteristic of Badal to push the situation to the brink and run away himself and go into hiding. “And he is precisely repeating the same thing now,” he remarked, adding, just because he does not have the option to run away as he happens to be the Chief Minister, he has timidly gone into hiding and is avoiding the public”.
“You have often claimed to love to be among the people, how come you have gone into such a long mode of isolation,” he asked Badal, while adding, “Why not hold a Sangat Darshan now, when it is required the most.”
He added that had Badal really been concerned about the public good he would have come out and held Sangat Darshans now and met the public and addressed their grievances. “But knowing him so well, he will never do that as he does things only to please himself and not to serve the people”, he remarked, adding, “He may not even be bothered about what is happening in Punjab as long as it does not endanger his throne”.