Captain Amarinder slams SAD for obstructing Bargari sacrilege probe

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday lambasted Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for its alleged "perverse and desperate attempts" to obstruct investigations into the Bargari sacrilege case, saying his government has already moved the court against the CBI closure report to enable the state to pursue the probe to its logical conclusion.

In an informal chat with media persons here, the Chief Minister said the then SAD-BJP government had deliberately handed over the sensitive case to the CBI in the first place and the agency had played to the tune of its masters by closing the matter without completing the probe.

In response to a question, Captain Amarinder also lashed out at SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal for trying to manipulate the facts about Rajiv Gandhi in the context of the 1984 riots.

Sukhbir himself was in the US at the time and had no clue what was happening in India at the time, he said, adding that Badal Junior was in the habit of blabbering without any substance.

Asked to comment on the current state of Indo-Pak relations, the Chief Minister hoped that Pakistan would honour its commitment and would complete the Kartarpur Corridor as planned.

To a query about the damage caused to the state by floods, the Chief Minister said that it was estimated to be around Rs 1,700 crores. The state administration was fully geared to meet any eventuality and would safeguard the lives of the people at all costs, he said.