Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday said it was
condemnable that at a time when the law and order position in Punjab was its worst and
communal harmony was in disarray, chief minister Bhagwant Mann had sublet the
police force to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convener Arvind Kejriwal to help the latter in
settling his petty personal scores.
Asking chief minister Bhagwant Mann not to become a puppet in the hands of Kejriwal,
the SAD president said “the chief minister should take review meetings of the law and
order situation as well as ensure those responsible for flaring communal tensions in the
recent Patiala clash are brought to task instead of keeping himself busy by deputing
Punjab Police teams to Delhi to arrest opponents of AAP”.
Telling the chief minister to eschew the politics of vendetta, Badal said “Punjabis did not
elect AAP for this task. Punjabis want to witness the meaningful change promised in the
State. It is condemnable that instead of fulfilling the promises made to the people, the
AAP government is registering cases against its political opponents like Tejinder Bagga
who was arrested and later freed from the clutches of the Punjab Police by the Haryana
Police today”.
Meanwhile, former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh also condemned the arrest
of Bagga and asked the Punjab Police not to succumb to the dictatorial diktats of an
outsider. “Remember, Arvind Kejriwal is not your Chief Minister and you are not there to
do his bidding”, the former Chief Minister cautioned the Punjab Police. Amarinder said,
when Punjab Police should be focused on handling the deteriorating law and order
situation and insurgency threat from Pakistan, they are being assigned the job of fixing
Kejriwal’s political opponents in other states.
He pointed out, while the police had arrested Bagga on Friday, earlier the Punjab Police
had booked Dr Kumar Vishwas and Alka Lamba also. Even the court observed that the
case against Vishwas was politically motivated, he pointed out.