Taking strong exception to Sukhbir Singh Badal’s baseless allegations that he had met Sikh preacher Baljit Singh Daduwal at the Chief Minister’s Residence (CMR) the previous night, Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday urged Speaker Vidhan Sabha to order a probe into the matter.Lashing out at the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president for attempting to mislead the House with his unfounded charges, the Chief Minister said an inquiry would help ascertain the truth and nail the lies of Sukhbir.The allegations were made by Sukhbir soon after the government tabled in the House the Justice (Retd.) Ranjit Singh Commission report into the sacrilege cases. The report was earlier accepted, along with Action Taken Report (ATR), by the state cabinet at a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister. The Cabinet gave its formal nod to the tabling of the report in the House.Asserting that he had never met Daduwal and does not even recognize him, Captain Amarinder Singh said in response to Sukhbir’s allegations that when he had gone to Bargari after the police firing, he was told that the Sikh preacher was also sitting there.
But he had neither seen nor ever met him personally, said the Chief Minister.
Pointing out that the CMR was monitored by Close Circuit Television Cameras (CCTVs), Captain Amarinder Singh said in the Assembly that the CCTV videos could easily be checked to expose Sukhbir’s brazen lies.Sukhbir had alleged that the CM had met Daduwal to hatch a conspiracy ahead of the tabling of the Justice (Retd) Ranjit Singh Commission report into the sacrilege cases.The Chief Minister dared Sukhbir to a debate over the sacrilege incidents that had rocked the state during the regime of the SAD-BJP. He also requested the Speaker to initiate House proceedings against the MLA for lying on the floor of the House.Captain Amarinder Singh said the Akalis were merely indulging in cheap gimmicks now to divert public attention from their misdeeds of 10 years, particularly the incidents of sacrilege which they had failed to check during their rule. He challenged the Akali leaders to join the debate tomorrow on the report and not run away from it, as they had been doing on key issues in the past.