Bajwa says Navjot Sidhu levelling charges of loot in Punjab against Akalis is a serious matter

Punjab Congress chief Partap Singh Bajwa today asserted that Bharatiya Janata Party's star campaigner in Haryana, Navjot Singh Sidhu, levelling grave charges of open loot in Punjab by the Parkash Singh Badal government was a serious issue.

"Such disparagement of the Badal government by the Congress earlier was being rejected as politically motivated but the BJP is an ally of the Akali Dal in Punjab as well as at the Centre. One fails to understand why such serious charges are being hurled by the star campaigner of the alliance partner who has even been provided with a helicopter to campaign in Haryana, how can this alliance be justified," Bajwa said.

"Sidhu has been entrusted with the responsibility of campaigning in Haryana by his party high command," he added.

Notably, Sidhu has launched a veiled attacked on the BJP's ally in Punjab, Shiromani Akali Dal, during the campaigning in Haryana.

Bajwa said it was clear that Sidhu was articulating the thinking of the BJP High Command about the Badal government. He said the situation demanded that the Centre should order a CBI inquiry into all the charges of corruption levelled by Sidhu against the Badal government

He asserted that the Congress had all along maintained that it was a mafia raj in Punjab.

The police had been turned into private militia and there was no chain of command," he said, adding that Sidhu had justified the stand of the Congress against the Badal government.

The Punjab Congress chief maintained that fissures between the Akali Dal and the BJP had been deepening for a long time and with the open attack by Sidhu on the Akali Dal government, the situation had taken a new turn as he would not have gone to this extent without the tacit signal from his party bosses.

"This attack would have to be seen in the context of the attitude adopted by the Narendra Modi government towards Punjab starting with the letter from Mr. Jaitley rejecting the demand for a special package. It was clear there was no love lost between the two alliance partners," he added.