Accusing the Congress-led Punjab Government of “misusing” the SIT on Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan incidents for “settling political scores”, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Badal on Thursday demanded to hand over the probe either to a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or to an independent investigative agency.
“In the light of this brazen politicization of the probe by the Congress government, we demand that the probe be handed over either to a sitting judge of the Supreme Court or to an independent investigative agency. Only then can a fair probe be conducted into these incidents,” he said.
“The real motive behind the entire Congress exercise is not to bring the truth out but to weaken the Sikh institutions including the SAD, and thus render the Sikhs leaderless. But what else can be expected from the Congress party which rolled tanks into Sri Harmandar Sahib, destroyed Sri Akal Takht Sahib, put hundreds of saroops of Guru Granth Sahib to flames and killed thousands of innocent Sikhs in 1984,” he said.
Condemning the harassment of Akali leader Mantar Sigh Brar by the SIT, Sukhbir said that this was being done under “political” instructions to go after Akali leaders. “Everybody knows that Mantar was only an MLA at that time and had no role whatsoever in the matter,” he said.
Sukhbir said that the Congress game-plan to implicate the Akali leadership in the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan incidents was clear right from the very beginning.
“Both Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Pradesh Congress president Sunil Jakhar had held the Akalis responsible for both incidents even before any inquiry was instituted to probe the cases,” he said.”
He added that his party did not cooperate with the Ranjit Singh Commission as its findings were announced even before its institution by Capt Amarinder and PPCC leader Sunil Jakhar. “This is why we did not cooperate with the Commission. Now again, the manner in which SIT has set about harassing Mantar Brar makes it clear that it is following the footsteps of the Congress Commission headed by Ranjit Singh,” he added.
Claiming that SAD was the first to extend cooperation to the SIT, Sukhbir said that we did that in good faith trusting the police officials, given responsibility to probe the two firing cases, would do a professional job unlike the Congress Commission headed by Ranjit Singh.
“Our hopes have, however, been belied. Just like Ranjit Singh’s Congress Commission, the SIT has become a tool of the Congress party to indulge in the vendetta politics. SIT officers are being openly directed by Chief Minister Capt Amarinder and his ministerial colleagues to implicate Akali leaders in the tragic firing incidents,” he said adding that only a sitting judge of the SC or an independent investigating agency can bring the truth out.