New Delhi, April 23
Taking a stance divergent to its alliance partner in Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal, the BJP today asked the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, to order a CBI probe against former Punjab Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal following allegations of harbouring terrorists made in a recent book authored by the widow of a former militant.
Balbir Punj, in charge of BJP’s Punjab affairs, today sent a letter to the PM, demanding that till the CBI inquiry was not completed against Bhattal, she should be asked to demit office as the chief of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, as the leader of the Congress legislative party in Punjab Assembly and also as an MLA. She should not hold any office as a matter of principle, Punj said while presenting his party’s view.
Punj, who is a Rajya Sabha MP, confirmed that he had written a letter to Manmohan Singh saying the allegations against Bhattal in the book “Bikhra Painda” by Sandeep Kaur, wife of slain Babbar Khalsa militant Dharam Singh Kashtiwal, should be probed at all costs. Earlier, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had been quoted in the media as having said that no inquiry was needed on the issue.
This is not the first time that the BJP has gone public over militancy and taken an opposite stance with its ruling partner in the state. In May last year, when the Dera Sacha Sauda issue had flared up, the Punjab unit of the BJP had even threatened to withdraw support when Sikh youth and dera followers clashed leading to tension across the state.
