Punjab CM slams SAD over 'shameless political stunts'

Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Saturday hit out at the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for their "shameless political stunts," in the wake of their alleged threat of agitation over the power hike in the state and their ultimatum in the murder cases of two former SAD sarpanch.

The SAD has threatened to take to the streets over the two issues, which the Chief Minister dubbed as "mere theatrics, aimed at covering up their own trail of misdeeds and misgovernance of 10 years, and their continued efforts to promote their political interests," read a statement.

"But you can't hide your miserable track record with these pathetic dramas," the Chief Minister said.

Captain Amarinder said the Punjab Police, under the present regime, was doing a "much better job at solving crime cases than it ever had under the erstwhile SAD-BJP rule."

These kind of churlish ultimatums might have worked under the Akali government when many innocent people were thrown behind bars after being charged in false cases, but under his regimen, no innocent person would be victimized for crimes they did not commit, said the Chief Minister.

The police are doing a thoroughly professional job and the investigations in both cases are on track, he said, adding that these cases would also be solved, just as all others had been solved under his government.

The Chief Minister said that the SAD-BJP government had specialized in transferring all difficult cases to the CBI.

Mismanagement and inefficiencies were the norm under the Akali rule, asserted the Chief Minister, adding that, in less than three years, his government had transformed the face of Punjab from a poor example of governance into a progressive state.

"Sitting on dharnas and taking to the streets will not help you get back into the good backs of the people, who have seen through your antics and crocodile tears, and are no longer willing to trust you," Captain Amarinder Singh said.