The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today said the mining mafia had taken over the Congress party with Pradesh Congress president Sunil Jakhar working overtime to clear mafia kingpin and party’s Shahkot assembly by-poll candidate Hardev Singh Laadi of criminal charges registered against him.In a statement here, senior leader and party mp Balwinder Singh Bhundur said there seemed to be a design behind the entire sequence of events.He said first Rahul Gandhi chose the mining mafia king pin for the party nomination despite grave allegations submitted in writing against him by senior Congress leaders of Kapurthala district. “Now PPCC president Sunil Jakhar has been pressed into service to defend a person who is prima facia guilty of theft which is a non-bailable offence. This proves not only how deeply entrenched the mining mafia is in the Congress party but also how it is virtually controlling the party and bending it as per its whims and fancies. This shows the true face of the Congress party as well as Rahul Gandhi who has been indulging in theatrics by saying he had denied the party nomination to the Reddy brothers in Karnataka but was in fact hand in glove with the mining mafia in Punjab”.
Mr Bhundur also asked the Election Commission to direct the State police to take appropriate legal action against Hardev Laadi, including his immediate arrest. “The EC should also monitor the case directly as the Congress party, including its PPCC chief, are making all efforts to get Laddi off the hook”, he added.The senior Akali leader said never before in the history of the Congress had any Pradesh Congress president defended an alleged criminal. He said even while defending the mafia kingpin Jakhar had indulged in double speak and tried to befool the people. “On the one hand Jakhar is saying that the FIR registered against Laadi is the result of political mischief. However on the other hand he claims that registration of the case is proof of the fact that the Congress party had not interfered in the matter at all. The PPCC chief must decide what is wants to say. Whether the case has been registered by the political opponents of the Congress or whether it has been registered on merit?”
Speaking about political interference, Mr Bhundur said the manner in which the Congress party had worked overtime to give a clean chit to Laadi was there for all to see. He said pressure had been put on Mehatpur SHO Parminder Singh not to register a case against Laadi and when this was done the SHO was pressurized so much that he even submitted his resignation. The Akali leader said instead of taking the side of the police officer and the common man who was aggrieved due to high sand prices by recommending President Police medal for the SHO, the PPCC chief had sided with the mining mafia. He said Jakhar was also trying to belittle the case registered by the SHO who had shown high moral courage and bravely collated the evidence against Laadi. “This type of conduct is unbecoming of any politician, leave aside one who is the PPCC chief and a fellow mp”, the Akali leader added.