Facing a political backlash for firing at the protestors sitting on a dharna some three years back against the incidents of sacrilege in the State, the Punjab Police on Friday found itself in a tumultuous situation once again after a senior member of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the matter was asked to leave his residence by the former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.
In a high voltage drama outside his Sector-4 official residence, Badal categorically refused the SIT member IG Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh — who had issued summons to the former Chief Minister, his son and SAD president Sukhbir Badal, and the Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar to appear before the probing team — to question him while making it clear that he would answer only to the SIT head’s queries.
As Kunwar Vijay reached Badal’s residence to quiz him in an attempt to murder case regarding Kotkapura firing incident of October 2015, the Akali patriarch asked about the absence of SIT head Parbodh Kumar, and expressed his reservation over being questioned by the IG accusing him of being “in control of his political masters”.
Kunwar Vijay called up Kumar, and Badal too spoke to him making him clear that he should himself come for the questioning as he was the SIT chairman. “I have been head of the State. Can you not come yourself…If you cannot come, I will come to you,” Badal told the ADGP Kumar amid high drama in front of the media.
Minutes later, Kumar reached the venue, and Kunwar Vijay left without talking to the media. Interestingly, Badal came to see the IG off. He had earlier also come out of his flat to personally welcome the SIT members, but was surprised to see only one of them.
The development assumes significance as only a day before, SAD had sought Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh’s intervention to remove Kunwar Vijay from the SIT for “demonstrating unprofessional conduct, disobedience of the law of the land, his malice and his political leanings”.
Kunwar Vijay, on November 11, had issued separate summons to Badal, Sukhbir and Akshay to appear before it at Amritsar circuit house on November 16, 19 and 21, respectively.
However, considering senior Badal’s old age, the SIT has issued fresh summons to the former Chief Minister giving him reprieve to give his “place of convenience” for interrogation, in case he did not wish to appear before it at Amritsar. Responding, Badal suggested his official residence in Chandigarh for questioning.
NEVER ORDERED FIRING: BADAL TO SIT
Punjab’s former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday submitted before the SIT, probing sacrilege and related firing incidents of 2015, that he had never given orders for firing.
The SIT, headed by Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Pramod Kumar, questioned Badal as a witness regarding Kotkapura firing incidents of October 14, 2015, in which two persons were killed.
During the questioning, that lasted for about 40-50 minutes, Badal reportedly answered all the queries by the SIT chairman patiently.
Later addressing the media, Badal said that he had informed the SIT that he had not ordered firing on the Sikh protesters agitating against the sacrilege incidents in October 2015. “I have told SIT everything. I did not order the firing,” said Badal.
“I think they were fully satisfied with my replies. But the result will be known after they give their report which I know…They want to turn us from witness to accused,” said 90-year-old Akali leader adding that the report will be “what Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh wants”.
However, Capt Amarinder had earlier clarified that the State Government had no role in the summoning of the former Chief Minister, former deputy Chief Minister and SAD president Sukhbir Badal and actor Akshay Kumar by the SIT as it was working “independently”.
“The team asked me several questions from here and there (edhar odhar de svaal puchh ke chale gaye). They had nothing substantial or relevant to ask,” he quipped.
Later, his Advisor on National Affairs and Media, Harcharan Bains said that Badal was supremely relaxed and confident before questioning but was surprised to find that only one member, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, had turned up for the exercise.
“Badal asked him if he could bring the SIT chairman Pramod Kumar on the phone line. When Kunwar Vijay connected Badal to Kumar, the former Chief Minister emphatically pointed out that the case had immense sensitivity and that it was surprising that the government is treating it with such casual attitude.
“Is it because the exercise is a mere formality and that the report of the SIT had already been written elsewhere?” he asked while urged Kumar “to find time to come over personally for the questioning as the SIT had gone to the unprecedented limits of making a five times Chief Minister a witness in a case under 307 IPC,” said Bains.
Bains said that Badal pointed out that on the one hand, the government wanted the people to believe in the sincerity of and seriousness of the SIT exercise, while on the other, the issue was being treated as a “mere ritual”, with just one member turning up to question the five-time Chief Minister.
CAPT UNLEASHING POLITICAL VENDETTA; SIT REPORT TO BE AUTHORED BY CAPT
Accusing Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh of unleashing political vendetta against him and his party, the Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal said that even though “everyone knows that the SIT’s report will be written by Capt Amarinder, yet, as a law-abiding citizen of the country, he would fully cooperate with the SIT”.
Describing SIT as “Congress government’s political tool”, Badal said that it was meant only to give shape to the ruling party’s thirst for political vendetta against the former CM and his family and colleagues.
“The government has nothing to show for its performance in the past two years. Therefore, it wanted to keep the people’s attention occupied with diversionary tactics such as the SIT,” he said.
Saying that SIT is “politically motivated”, Badal said: “Never ever had it happened in history of independent India, that a democratically elected Chief Minister is called for questioning in an attempt to murder case. Neither was Indira Gandhi booked for operation blue star nor the current Chief Minister for Amritsar rail accident.”
Badal made it clear that he was “not scared of jail”.
“SAD is peace loving party, but the Congress party is playing dirty politics, and they can take Punjab to its dark history. In last term, Capt Amarinder had sent me, my son and wife to jail,” he said.