AAP's quid pro quo with Badals exposed: Cong on Patiala jail supdt row

Chandigarh, March 27

The AAP is under fire from the Congress over the appointment of Sucha Singh, a confidant of the Badals, as the Patiala Jail Superintendent.

Raking up the issue, former Jails Minister and Dera Baba Nanak MLA Sukhjinder Randhawa said a person who was charge-sheeted by the department had been appointed as the Jail Superintendent. He was supposedly close to the Badal family. “It is an unfortunate thing to have happened. The government’s negligence in taking action against drugs is clear,” he said.

Deeply worrying

Deeply worrying that a known associate who has admitted to his proximity to the Badals has been appointed Patiala Jail Superintendent. —Partap Singh Bajwa, Qadian MLA

Qadian MLA Partap Singh Bajwa said such quid pro quo agreements were disturbing. In a tweet addressed to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Bajwa said: “I urge you to look into the matter immediately and ensure stern action is taken to prevent your ministers from allowing favourable treatment to specific inmates. You have been elected on the platform of change by the people of Punjab. I find it deeply worrying that a known associate who has publicly admitted to his proximity to the Badal family has been appointed as the Superintendent of Patiala Jail.”

Former Education Minister Pargat Singh said AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and CM Mann needed to explain why a person close to the Badals had been appointed as the Superintendent of Patiala Jail, where Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia was lodged. “Is this part of some quid pro with the Badals? Is this the ‘Badlav’ that Punjab wanted?” he sought to know. The Punjab Youth Congress said a secret arrangement to help each other had come out in the open. —