Why scared of probe? Amarinder asks AAP

Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh today asked the Aam Aadmi Party why it was "scared" of probe into the "desecration" of religious book in Malerkotla.
"Given the anarchic proclivities and subversive tendencies of AAP, nothing can be ruled out at this stage," he said here, while referring to a case registered against AAP MLA in the Malerkotla sacrilege incident.
"If the party believes that its MLA, Naresh Yadav, who has emerged to be a prime suspect, was really innocent why it did not trust the courts," Amarinder asked.
He was speaking during an event to formally welcome the AICC secretary in charge for Punjab Asha Kumari, a party release said.

The PCC president also took a dig at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's claims over honesty and integrity after his Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar was arrested by the CBI yesterday over corruption charges.
He said Kumar had frequently been removed during former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit's tenure over graft complaints and still Kejriwal preferred him to be his Principal Secretary.

"Kejriwal has so far lived with a delusional belief and a myth that he is the lone and the last honest surviving living being on earth and today that myth has been completely exposed and exploded," Amarinder remarked while pointing out how he trusted the matters of his government with a person whose integrity was always "suspected" and "doubtful".

When told that Kejriwal was claiming it to be vendetta by Modi, the former Chief Minister retorted, "when ED issued notices to my son at the behest of Arun Jaitley, the AAP leaders went into a mad race to authenticate and validate those baseless charges and now when they have themselves felt the heat, they are crying vendetta."
Amarinder said, "if the Modi government and its Finance Minister harass Congress leaders they (the AAP) are fine with it, rather they are supportive of it, but when Kejriwal's own corrupt and delinquent officials and ministers get caught, Kejriwal starts crying persecution and vendetta."

Replying to another query on conferring the status of a
martyr to ex-serviceman Subedar (Retd) Ram Kishen Grewal, whose suicide in New Delhi over the 'One Rank, One Pension" (OROP) issue has evoked nationwide anger, Amarinder said he was in favour of it.
"He (Grewal) laid down his life for his brethren, so that they could get their rightful dues. He deserves to be treated as a martyr," he said.
Amarinder alleged that "contrary to the Defence Ministry's claims, OROP had not been implemented at all" and "in fact, the pension amount had actually been reduced not just for the armed forces but also the paramilitary forces under the 7th Pay Commission".

Regarding cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu's Awaaz-e-Punjab front joining hands with his party ahead of the Punjab polls, the state Congress chief said he had already made his stance on the issue clear.
"I have already welcomed him (to join the Congress unconditionally)," he said.
To another query on the air pollution in Delhi resulting from stubble burning in Punjab, Amarinder said the only solution was to implement the recommendations of the MS Swaminathan Committee report.
"Most of the farmers in the state are small-scale. They resort to stubble burning to boost their income," he said, adding that once their income went up, the problem will "automatically disappear".

The Congress leader accused Badal of making "empty promises" to the farmers as well as other sections of the people of Punjab.