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Tuesday,
June 18, 2002, Chandigarh, India  
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CM firm on ending corruption Chandigarh, June 17 Responding to the charges levelled by Mr Badal and others against his government in a memorandum submitted to the Prime Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh said he would welcome the visit of the NDA team to the state provided it “meets all sections of society and makes an independent opinion and is not guided by the Akalis”. “Whatever the Akalis might say, there would be no let-up in the campaign against corruption till the last corrupt person in the state brought to book”, he asserted. To blunt the effect of Mr Badal’s visit to Delhi, the Chief Minister today wrote a demi-official letter to nine editors of leading English dailies in the country to visit the state to assess the performance of his government. He stated that his government was top on tackling corruption and on the good governance. “Every person in public life is accountable for his actions and if any Chief Minister or minister thinks he has been appointed to loot, then he must be held accountable and must pay the price”, the letter says, pointing out his campaign against corruption. The letter adds “the NDA has now agreed on Mr Badal’s request to send a team to Punjab to inquire into the deteriorating law and order situation, but I wonder why the NDA was mute spectator when Punjab was victim of a total lack of governance and when corruption had reached unheard heights”. He has promised to the editors that first person information would be provided on what his government was doing to clean up the mess that Akalis had allegedly left in the state. Revealing figures, Capt Amarinder Singh, who was flanked by the DGP, Mr M.S. Bhullar, ADGP Vigilance, Mr A. P. Pandey and ADGP (Crime), Mr K.K. Attri, said that there were a fewer number of cases of rape, robbery and assault on public servants during the past three-month rule of the Congress government as compared the corresponding period of last year pertaining to the SAD-BJP rule. However, he admitted that there was an increase in cases of murder, burglary, theft etc. However, he said there was a vast improvement in the recovery of stolen property. There was no terrorist crime.He said that two senior police officers had been asked to assist the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to inquire into the alleged involvement of certain judges in the PPSC recruitment scam. About the allegations levelled by a warrant officer against the certain officials of Vigilance Bureau, Mr Pandey said the warrant officer had come accompanied by a number of persons, including certain “bad elements” and a photographer, which was illegal. Mr Pandey supported the earlier version of Vigilance Bureau in connection with this incident. About the health of the suspended PPSC Chairman, Mr Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu, Capt Amarinder Singh, said he had instructed that the necessary health care and comforts be provided to him. On the involvement of the Chairman of the Punjab School Education Board, Dr Kehar Singh, in recruitment and other scams, Capt Amarinder Singh, said that Dr Kehar Singh was a very reputed person and “I don’t think he would be involved in any misdoing”. However, Mr Pandey, who was sitting nearby held that Dr Kehar Singh would be subjected to interrogation when he returned from abroad.  |
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