lashing out at the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for “shameful legacy” of religious sacrilege it has left behind, Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar on Sunday said that the erstwhile Badal Government had gone all out to erode religious institutions in the State, not sparing even the holy Sri Harmandir Sahib.
Reacting strongly to the telecast of the obnoxious liquor ads on lED screens on the Heritage Street leading up to the Golden Temple, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president pointed out that this was also a heritage from the Akalis, who had given out 15-year contracts for these screens in sheer haste and had also failed to control the ad content.
“They (the Badals) are responsible for this contract. So why are they blaming us nowIJ” said Jakhar, adding that the Badals had evidently engaged in the entire transaction for commercial gains for themselves.
They seemed to have been interested only in pushing up footfalls, without appreciating the fact that the place was a centre of pilgrimage for people from around the world and its sanctity needed to be maintained at all costs, said the PPCC president.
Pointing to the measly Rs 5 lakh per annum fee for which the concession had been granted for crores of rupees worth of sites, Jakhar said that there was clearly huge financial bungling involved in the contract, which seemed to have been designed to fill the pockets of a few individuals, causing massive loss to the state exchequer.
“It is the Akalis who should apologize for hurting the religious sentiments of the Sikh community by granting such a shady and ill-conceived concession in the first place,” said Jakhar, lashing out at those demanding an apology from Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on the issue.
Jakhar made it clear that
no such attempts to demolish the religious institutions through sacrilegious attacks or any other means would be tolerated. “We will not allow such things to continue,” he declared.
Jakhar came out strongly against the Badals’ decade-long attempts to undermine religious institutions and promote intolerance in the state, triggering communal disharmony and unrest.
The Akalis, in order to promote their vested interests, had indulged in divisive politics, for which the people of state had paid a heavy price, said Jakhar, citing the record number of sacrilege cases reported during the SAD-BJP rule.
“The Capt Amarinder Government, which has already ordered a fresh inquiry into all cases of sacrilege and desecration, including
the much-publicised Bargari firing incident, is striving hard to rid the State of this
disgraceful legacy,” the PPCC chief said, making it clear
that neither his party nor the Congress government would allow anyone to destroy the peace and stability of Punjab.
The State has suffered enough of communal strife and violence, leading to immeasurable loss of life and regressing its development by several years, he pointed out, asserting that any such attempts would now be tackled with an iron fist.
Referring to the liquor ads on the giant screens on Heritage Street, Jakhar dubbed it as another scam on the part of the Badal Government, which had contracted out the screens without taking into account even basic things like verification of the content.
“The documents related to the deal show that the contract was given out in complete haste, with less than a month’s time given to ADA to float the tender. The decision on contracting out the space was taken at a meeting on December 6, 2015, with a deadline of December 31, 2015. for the ADA to release the tender. This undue haste suggests a total lack of transparency in the contract,” said Jakhar.
PPCC chief said that there was no attempt by the government thereafter to check the ad content, even though it was clearly in violation of the Concessionaire agreement.
He urged the Chief Minister to get the inquiry into the matter expedited and order strong action against anyone found indulging in wrongdoing in the case, in order to protect the religious sentiments and rights of the Sikh community.
The Government should get the inquiry into the ad contract completed expeditiously and the contract should be cancelled if the concessionaire is found to have violated the law in any manner, Jakhar said.