 |
|
Bring graft trial under SC ambit, says Badal Patiala, December 10 Talking to newsmen at the Dukhniwaran Gurdwara after his release from the Central Jail, the former Chief Minister said SAD would make a suggestion in this regard to the NDA government and also raise the issue in Parliament. Mr Badal said formation of such a commission was necessary to ensure that cases were not registered against politicians to settle scores as he claimed had happened in his case. He said as far as he was concerned he did not own even one acre of land abroad nor was there even one rupee deposited in his name in any bank in any foreign country. The former Chief Minister thanked all Punjabis, the Akali workers as well as the BJP and NDA leadership for showing solidarity “in the moment of crisis”. He, however, said the anti-repression movement launched by SAD would continue because all sections of the state were being “repressed” by the present government. He said the manner in which this movement was to be conducted would be decided on December 12 during a meeting of the Parliamentary Affairs Committee (PAC) of the party which would meet in Kalgidhar Niwas in Chandigarh. He disclosed that he would be going to Amritsar tomorrow along with his son to offer thanksgiving at Harmandar Sahib. Claiming that Chief Minister Amarinder Singh may not last for another few days, Mr Badal refused to answer a question asking whether his party would extend support to any rump group in case of a revolt in the state Congress party. He said he could reply to such a question only when the situation arose. He, however, said what he did know was that none was happy with the Chief Minister, with even his ministers revolting against him. “There is a reason for this”, he said adding a few officers were calling the shots to the detriment of everyone else. Mr Badal even went on to say that the Congress government had caused a great loss to the state by giving statements which had delayed the setting up of the Rs 16,000 crore refinery at Bathinda. He also alleged that the government had disinvested its share in Punjab Tractors to benefit a company which did not have any experience in this sphere. He alleged that kickbacks had been given in this case but did not elaborate the point.  |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Jubilant Akalis
scramble to greet Badals Patiala, December 10 The “victory” sign was also used by the SAD President and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal immediately after getting out of the jail. The Akali leaders also made the bail given by the court into a “victorious” occasion. Earlier only senior leader Capt Kanwaljit Singh was allowed into the courtyard of the jail complex and he accompanied Mr Badal to the main gate in the latter’s official Ambassador car. At the main gate the SAD President’s nephew Manpreet Singh Badal joined them and took over the steering wheel of the vehicle. Capt Kanwaljit Singh and Mr Balwinder Singh Bhundur joined Mr Badal in the backseat while Bibi Jagi Kaur sat upfront alongwith Manpreet. Sukhbir Badal made the exit from the jail main gate first and even stood astride an open jeep for some time to greet party workers. Later he stepped into a private vehicle which was led by a number of open gypsies, a mini truck with a “jatha” of women workers chanting traditional Akali slogans and a number of other vehicles. The SAD President’s Ambassador travelled almost at the rear of the convoy. Manpreet did not need to start the ignition of the vehicle as enthusiastic Akali Workers and leaders pushed it all the way to Dukhniwaran gurdwara where the leaders offered thanksgiving and later addressed an impromptu rally. Earlier there was a mad scramble in front of the main gate of the jail complex with the Akalis falling upon each other to greet their leaders. Similarly a few fell when they tried to get onto open jeeps which formed part of the cavalcade of the SAD leader. The cavalcade, which started from the jail complex at 1 p.m. reached Dukhniwaran gurdwara after one and a half hours even though the distance to be covered was a little more than 1 km. Akali workers resorted to an astonishing
fireworks display. A “gatka” team also entertained the workers who had collected on the occasion.
Youth astride open jeeps shouted slogans like ‘’ Iki duki rahen nahi dena” and Badal teri soch te pahra dayanga thok ke . This atmosphere was repeated when the cavalcade reached Dukhniwaran gurdwara where Akali workers had already congregated around the same stage which had been built for the “Anti Repression” rally. At this place the Akalis had been speaking from the stage since 10 a.m. with the dominant theme being the “repression” let loose on the party and how the party had decided that enough was enough when its party President was himself targetted by the Congress
government. Anecdotes of how “Amarinder” was a “do din ka mehman” and the
certainty that the Akalis were on the comeback trail were the words fed to
Akali workers on the occasion. Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Gurcharan Singh Tohra held the centre stage and gave repeated lectures to keep the crowd pepped up even as senior leader Prem Singh Chandumajra conducted the stage. Capt Kanwaljit Singh also gave an impressive speech and conducted the proceedings when Mr Badal arrived on the stage. Later the SAD President also addressed the gathering. Speaking on the occasion, he lauded the efforts of
Akali workers, particularly Mr Tohra saying his role was responsible for the “fruit” gained by the party today. Earlier while talking to newsmen, Mr Badal when asked about Mr Tohra’s offer to become a candidate from Patiala for the Lok Sabha elections, said he would be most happy if Mr Tohra fought the Parliament election from the Patiala seat.
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Mailbag | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | National Capital | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
