The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal and the main Opposition Congress were involved in a verbal slugfest over the issue of purported Swiss bank accounts of senior Congress leader Capt Amarinder Singh’s family.
While Amritsar MP, Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday questioned Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal’s locus standi over his claims that Swiss authorities will soon be sharing Capt Amarinder’s and his family’s bank account details with the Indian Government, the SAD asked him to come clear whether he or his family members had any Swiss bank account or not.
Capt Amarinder said that Sukhbir’s statement, although devoid of any logic or substance, only vindicated his (Capt Amarinder’s) stand that the BJP led government at the Centre was trying to help and bail out its beleaguered partner in Punjab by raking up an issue which does not exist.
“And thankfully for us, Sukhbir has betrayed his own secrets mindfully or inadvertently,” he remarked, while adding that he had made it clear beyond any doubt as what was cooking up between the Akalis and the BJP to defame him.
“Otherwise, how should Sukhbir, a Deputy Chief Minister of a state, be knowing what was going on between two countries at the sovereign and diplomatic level, if at all anything was actually happening, since the whole episode has been conceived to malign me at a time when Congress is emerging as a powerful force in Punjab,” he said.
On the other hand, the SAD has asked Capt Amarinder not to beat around the bush and clearly tell the people of Punjab whether he or his family members had any Swiss bank account or trust or not.
“If Amarinder or his family members did have an account or trust abroad, he should come clean immediately,” said senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema.
He said: “If you do have an account or trust in Switzerland, it proves that you transferred ill-gotten wealth during your tenure as chief minister of Punjab abroad. You are duty bound to tell the people why you resorted to wanton loot of the people who reposed so much trust in you. You must also tell why you denied your family’s involvement in intranet scam during your tenure when the issue of transfer of funds abroad was first brought to the people’s notice.”
Cheema said it would be best for Amarinder to admit his guilt and apologise to the people of Punjab besides announcing to quit politics immediately.
At the same time, some senior Congress leaders have asked the Akalis to seek Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s resignation before raising a finger against Capt Amarinder, suggesting a poll to check how people of Punjab rate them.
“let us go for a public referendum and see who do people of Punjab consider to be the most corrupt, Capt Amarinder or the Badals,” challenged Congress leaders, including Sukhjinder Randhawa, Rana Gurjeet Singh, Kewal Singh Dhillon, Rana KP Singh and Sukh Sarkaria.
They pointed how Badal, from being an ordinary farmer, had accumulated wealth worth billions of rupees which was totally unaccounted and disproportionate to his income.