Chief minister said he was unhappy that SAD was “wasting” its time with “baseless accusations” (File)
Chandigarh:
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh briefly told SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday to open his eyes to the secessionist threat from anti-Indian forces instead of engaging in “political theaters” about the alleged abuse of the UAPA anti-terrorist law.
The chief minister hit back days after Badal accused state police of abusing anti-terrorism law and arresting Sikh youth “indiscriminately” for “petty crimes”.
The chief minister hit back at the SAD chief while welcoming the UK’s rejection, after Canada, of the pro-Khalistan Sikhs for Justice group’s “2020 referendum”, with a categorical statement that “it does not is in no way involved in this unofficial, non-binding referendum process … and considers the Indian Punjab to be part of India. “
Welcoming the UK’s statement, the CM expressed surprise that Badal continues to “turn a blind eye” to the threat posed by the SFJ backed by Pakistan and other terrorist and radical forces working to destabilize India , especially the Punjab.
“Can’t he (Badal) see that the UAPA arrests he opposes are part of the state government’s strategy to tackle this threat?” Asked Mr. Singh.
The CM said it was unfortunate that instead of playing the role of a constructive opposition in the state, the SAD was “wasting” its time with its “baseless accusations” and comments.
He reminded the SAD chief of his earlier offer to look into any cases of abuse of the illegal activities (prevention) law and wrongful arrest under the same if Badal reports such an incident to him.
“Why don’t you send me the list of cases that you claim the police wrongly registered?” he asked Sukhbir, while also looking for a list of the names of those arrested under the UAPA during the reign of the SAD-BJP.
He reminded the SAD President that the Badal government had registered over 60 cases under the UAPA during their tenure.
Interestingly, of the 225 people arrested in these cases, 120 were either acquitted or released.
“Shouldn’t a large number of acquittals / absences be taken to mean that you applied the law without discrimination?” Mr Singh asked Sukhbir, questioning Shiromani leader Akali Dal’s alleged motives for giving a community twist to some of the recent arrests made by the Punjab police under the UAPA.
If the Akalis believed the UAPA was anti-popular and divisive, then Sukhbir, as CM vice-president and interior minister in the former SAD-BJP government, shouldn’t have been. apply in many cases while in power, the CM said in a statement. here.
Congress, which was part of the opposition at the time, had assumed the UAPA was being used to contain terror in the state, he added.
Taking a dig at Sukhbir’s remarks on the matter, in which he said “we will not allow anyone to disturb the feeling of brotherhood, especially among Hindus and Sikhs”, the chief minister said it was the SAD leader who was trying to create a “divide” between communities with his “senseless” attack on the state government’s attempts to prevent anti-Punjab forces from succeeding in their plan of action.
“Why is Sukhbir determined to incite the peace-loving people of Punjab against the state police, who have successfully fought the terrorists sponsored by the SFJ and ISI for more than three years,” asked the chief minister .
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
