Sekks CM Mann’s resignation; calls verdict a victory for justice after 12-year struggle of victim Harbinder Kaur
TARN TARAN: Shiromani Akali Dal leader and former MLA Khadoor Sahib Ravinder Singh Brahmpura on Friday termed the four-year sentence awarded to Aam Aadmi Party legislator Manjinder Singh Lalpura in a 2013 case of atrocity against a woman as a "historic victory of Punjab’s daughter and of justice.”
In a statement issued here, Brahmpura said the Tarn Taran court’s verdict was not merely about punishing a criminal but marked the triumph of the courage and determination of Harbinder Kaur, who fought a long and painful 12-year legal battle. “This judgment has completely exposed the criminal and gangster elements hiding behind AAP’s so-called façade of ‘clean politics’, ” he remarked.
Pointing to the legal implications of the verdict, Brahmpura said that since Lalpura has been sentenced to more than two years in prison, he automatically stands disqualified as a member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly. He demanded that the Speaker immediately issue, within 24 hours, a formal notification cancelling Lalpura’s membership, failing which it would amount to disrespecting the judiciary’s verdict.
Launching a direct attack on Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Brahmpura said, “This punishment is not confined to Lalpura alone, but also extends to CM Mann and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, who continued to patronise such criminal elements. A Chief Minister who went out of his way to shield a convict has forfeited every moral right to govern. He must immediately resign from his office.”