Akalis playing into ISI hands by sabotaging sacrilege investigation : Manish Tewari

5 Dariya News

Ropar , 22 Apr 2019

Senior Congress leader and party candidate from Sri Anandpur Sahab Manish Tewari today said that the Akali Dal leaders were playing into the hands of Pakistan and its notorious intelligence agency, ISI by trying to sabotage the ongoing probe into the incidents of sacrilege that took place during their tenure.Speaking at the ‘Meet the Press’ programme organized by the Ropar Press Club here today, Tewari said, the Akalis were misinforming the Election Commission of India by complaining against the officers involved in the investigation.He pointed out, the Bargadi sacrilege was the handiwork of those who wanted to hurt the religious feelings of the Punjabis and sabotage the hard earned peace. “I wonder what are the Akali leaders scared of that they are getting the officers removed from the investigations and getting these derailed”, he asked.Questioning the locus standi of the Akali candidate Prem Singh Chandumajra in describing him as an “outsider”, Tewari remarked, “let Mr Chandumajra explain whether he himself belongs to Sri Anandpur Sahab parliamentary constituency”. He said, since Akali candidate had nothing to his credit hat he could claim he had done during the last five years as an MP, he was trying to divert the issue.
He challenged Chandumajra to debate as whose contribution towards Punjab was greater. “I am a third generation Punjabi who has been involved with politics starting from my grandfather Sardar Tirath Singh Guram, who was a minister, my father Prof Vishwanath Tewari who was an eminent Punjabi scholar and writer and an MP and now myself”, he said, while asking Chandumajra to tell Punjabis what was his role in Punjab when his father (Prof Tewari) was fighting to save Punjabiat and the process laid down his life.Tewari, however, declined to comment on a question over Chandumajra’s alleged anti-national activities for which he was also arrested during the dark days of terrorism, saying Punjab has moved ahead and left behind those days.The Congress National Spokesperson said, although Capt Amarinder Singh’s government has been in office for only two years so far, it had already taken major initiatives against drugs, unemployment, criminal gangs and also waived off farmers’ loans. “Despite the fact that the Akali-BJP alliance had createed mess and anarchy which needed time to be cleared, Capt Amarinder started from the word go and the results are before all of us”, he said, while adding, his performance will be judged after five years.On this occasion the Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Satbir Singh Ahluwalia also joined the Congress.Tewari was accompanied by Ropar District Congress Committee president Birinder Singh Dhillon and other senior leaders of the party.