Chandigarh/Patiala, January 25: Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Friday hailed the verdict issued by the High Court of Punjab & Haryana in the Bargari case as a victory for the families of the innocent victims of the brutal killings which had gone deliberately uninvestigated during the previous SAD-BJP regime.
Vowing to ensure a free and fair investigation to book the true culprits of the sacrilege case and the subsequent incident of police firing on innocent protesters, the Chief Minister told media persons in an informal chat here that the SIT set up to probe the matter would bbe given a free hand take its investigation to its logical conclusion and as expeditiously as possible. Nobody found responsible would be spared the hand of the law, he declared.
The court, while rejecting the writ petitions filed by the policemen named in the firing, declined to transfer the investigation to the CBI and instead reposed faith in the SIT constituted by the State Government. The Court has directed the SIT to complete its investigation and present the challan, which would be done, said Captain Amarinder, in response to a question. The petitions had been successfully defended by the State of Punjab by P Chidambaram Senior Advocate and the State’s Advocate General Atul Nanda.
Responding to another question, the Chief Minister said he believed that the Kartarpur Corridor should be opened to devotees of all religions. The Sikh Gurus had propagated the universality of God and, in line with their ideology, Gurdwaras were always open to people of all faiths, he pointed out, strongly advocating opening of the corridor for all, so that no follower of Sri Guru Nanak Dev is deprived of the opportunity to pay obeisance at the historic Kartarpur Gurdwara in Pakistan.
Expressing the confidence that the Congress would sweep all the 13 Lok Sabha seats in the state in the ensuing elections, the Chief Minister dismissed as irrelevant the new political parties mushrooming in Punjab. These new outfits coming up before the parliamentary polls are not to be taken seriously, he added, ruling out any threat from these fly-by-night parties.
Asked to comment on the statement of BJP leader and Bihar minister Vinod Narain Jha said that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had no other qualification except being “very beautiful”, which could not garner votes, the Chief Minister quipped, “What else do you expect a mad person to say.”
