Will go after Badal and fix him: Amarinder

Blaming the Akali Dal veteran for ruining Punjab and holding him responsible for the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan firing incidents, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday vowed to "go hammer and tongs after Parkash Singh Badal and fix him".

Reiterating that there was no question of going soft on the former Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh told the media here that "it was not possible that Badal was not aware of the police firing".

"The SIT (special investigative team) probe report into the incident would go to the courts and the truth would come out," Amarinder Singh said.

He said the decision to withdraw the investigation from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and hand it over to a Punjab Police SIT was taken by the state Assembly which felt the BJP-led government at the centre could influence the central agency as the BJP was an ally of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).

"The Ranjit Singh Commission set up to probe the sacrilege cases and the firing incidents at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura had suggested further investigation, which was why the SIT is being set up," Amarinder Singh said.

Reacting to Badal's assertion that he was ready to swear that he did not know about the firing, the Chief Minister dismissed it as a "gimmick to divert public attention from his role in the incident".

"How many times has he falsely sworn at the Akal Takht," asked Amarinder Singh.

"How is it possible that the CM did not know about the firing? Former DGP Sumedh Saini had clearly stated before the Ranjit Singh Commission that Badal had asked him to disperse the crowd forcibly," Amarinder Singh said.

--IANS

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