Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh has vowed to reopen investigations in all major cases of sacrilege in the state, as well as the recent Nabha jailbreak incident, alleging involvement of the Badals and other Akali leaders in these incidents and promising stringent punishment against those found guilty.Addressing mediapersons here, Captain Amarinder said not a single incident of sacrilege, including the one in Bargadi (Faridkot), had been properly investigated and no culprit brought to book in the various cases reported from different parts of the state. He accused the Badals of instigating such incidents to incite communal polarization with an eye on the coming Assembly elections.Referring to the Nabha jailbreak, Captain Amarinder attributed the same also to the Badals’ complicity, pointing out that the men who had escaped belonged to the Badal belt. Why would Pakistan go around rescuing goondas from Indian jails, he asked, in a clear reference to Sukhbir Badal’s claim of Pakistani involvement in the jailbreak.
Replying to questions on declaration of party tickets for the upcoming Assembly polls, Captain Amarinder said there was no delay and the process was going on the right track, with the last scrutiny committee meeting scheduled for today. He indicated that the list of candidates would most likely be released in two lots, but asserted that all the candidates would get enough time for campaigning.Captain Amarinder denied any disputes or differences on the tickets, saying there was total consensus on the names being finalized by the scrutiny committee for submission to the Congress Electoral Committee (CEC). The date for the final CEC meeting, however, was not yet confirmed, he added.The Punjab Congress president reiterated that party candidates would be preferred in the allocation of tickets as against those joining from other parties, with the latter to be considered only on seats where the Congress had no winning candidates of its own.
Captain Amarinder came down heavily on Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), accusing him of being a liar on the SYL issue. Kejriwal will again change his stand on SYL after the Punjab elections, said the Punjab Congress president, assailing Kejriwal for making false promises on Dalits and Sikhs. If he is really interested in promoting and protecting the interests of these communities, why is there no Dalit or Sikh member in his cabinet in Delhi, asked Captain Amarinder.To a question on Navjot Singh Sidhu, Captain Amarinder asserted that he would surely come to the Congress. He also indicated that Yamini Gomar, who quit AAP on Tuesday making serious charges against Kejriwal and other senior leaders, could join the Congress. Captain Amarinder revealed Yamini had met him a few days back and showed interest in joining the Punjab Congress.