Former deputy chief minister and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal today said the spate of ongoing attacks on Akali workers had made it clear that the Congress government had given a go ahead to its cadre to indulge in vendetta politics.In a statement here, Mr Badal said it also seemed that the State Police had been informally coopted in this vendetta drive by the Punjab Congress. “There can be no other reason for the continued murderous attacks on Akali workers”, he said.The SAD president said the Congress government had also fine-tuned its response to every barbarity unleashed on Akali workers. “Each and every time the government offers lip sympathy and asks the administration to act against the offenders. Despite this the attacks are not stopping. It is obvious. Congress workers know the government is not serious about putting an end to this vendetta drive and they continue to strike against Akali workers at will”.Speaking about yesterday’s attack on an SAD sarpanch in Mansa district during the course of which his son Sukhwinder Singh was shot dead, Mr Badal said no action had been taken against District Congress Committee president Bikramjit Singh Mofar. He said this despite the fact that the victim had given a statement that Mofar was behind the act. He demanded immediate registration of cases as well as arrest of all Congress leaders involved in this murderous attack which had snuffed out the life of a young boy.
Mr Badal said Congress workers had made their intentions clear immediately after the polls. One Congress worker took to a loudspeaker to first issue threats against Akali leader Gurbachan Singh Khalsa in Qadian constituency of Gurdaspur district before shooting him dead. He said in another case the Lambi police was coopted by Congressmen to hit out at Akali worker Gurdev Singh who was mercilessly beaten by cops to such an extent that he succumbed to his injuries on the spot. “There are numerous other such cases which have occurred across the State. Our dalit leaders have also been targeted in a big way with the family of a dalit woman councilor also being attacked in Majithia”, he added.The SAD president said the party would take up all cases of vendetta politics being unleashed by Congress workers. “We will also get proceedings initiated in court against all officers who abet such cases besides working to bring the guilty to book”. He also urged Akali workers to unite and hold protests at the block and district level to thwart Congressmen from indulging in vendetta.