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Editorial

Badal family in soup over sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib, Bargari killings of Sikhs

August 28, 2018 11:03 AM

Punjab News Express
CHANDIGARH: The Badal family-Parkash Singh Badal and his sn Sukhbir Singh Badal-are caught on wrong foot 0n the issue of series of sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib in Punjab and police action on protesting Sikhs in Kotkapura and Bargari where two Sikhs were killed in police firing. The Justice Ranjit Singh commission report has nailed Badal family members on their involvement in ghasty incidents.

It was general preception that Parkash Singh Badakl and Sukhbir Singh Badalf have conspired in sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib and subsequent policer action to get political mileage out of it. The report of the commission has however authenticated the involvement of Badal family with hard evidence. Sukjbir Singh Badal who was de-facto Chief Minister and home minister of state had not even conspired in sacrilege incidents, he also protected the accused-hailing from era Sacha Sauda. He stalled police action against the dera men and also policemen guilty of firing on innocent Sikhs. Sukhbir had blamed ISI of Pakistan and Aam Aadmi Party for the sacrilege incidents.

The involvement of Badal family members in sacrilege incidents as probed by the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission, is more embarrassing for the Shiromani Akali Dal which has been playing its politics on Panthis issues. Even on Monday when Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report was presented in Vidhan Sabha, the SAD leaders were trying to divert the public attention  by raising the issue of 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Sukhbir Badal was so scared of the report that he was fumbling while taklking to mediamen.

Sukhbir Badal also claimed that Congress leaders and AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira held meetings with Justice Ranjit Singh and hatched conspiracy to frame Akali Dal leaders. He also gave details of phone localtion of Congress leaders, Khaira and Justice Ranjit Singh. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh however rejected the charges and requested the Speaker Rana KP Singh to order an inquiry into Sukhbir's allegations which he claimed are false and fabricated.

Parkash Singh Badal during his tenure didnt allow to register FIR against the police officers who killed the protesting Sikhs. Badal had appointed Justice Zora Singh Commission to probe the role of police which recommended the registration of cases against police officers but FIR was registered against unknown persons. The Badal government had also not made public the report of Zora Singh Commission.

Now when police officers have been named in the FIR on the recommendation of Justice Ranjit Singh Commission, the Congress party has launched an offensive on the former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal.

Though the name of Parkash Singh Badal is given as an accused in the commission report, the role of Sukhbir Singh Badal was not investigated by the commission. Sukhbir is not only an alleged conspirator in the sacrilege cases, he is also accused of striking a deal of Rs.100 crores with dera chief Gurmit Ram Rahim Singh to allow to release his film in Punjab.

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