Tarn Taran/Chandigarh, November 17
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday warned Punjab Police officers acting as “puppets” of AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to immediately desist from illegally arresting Akali workers, failing which they would be dragged to court and punished as per law.
Interacting with the media while visiting families of Akali workers illegally arrested by Punjab Police in different villages of Tarn Taran, the SAD President said the frustration of the AAP government was clearly visible in the actions of the Punjab Police. He said active Akali workers were being arrested and even women family members were not being spared. He termed it shameful that Punjab Police was conducting raids on the houses of Akali leaders late at night and in the early hours only because AAP candidate Harmeet Singh Sandhu did not get the number of votes he expected from these villages.
Responding to media queries, Badal said no action was being taken against workers or leaders of the Congress, BJP or any other political party, and only Akali Dal leaders and workers were being selectively targeted. He said he had never witnessed such police action against political opponents in the past and that the DGP and the Chief Minister had turned Punjab into a ‘police state’. He added that even courts were reprimanding police officers for making these illegal arrests.
Badal further warned that officers acting as puppets of the AAP government should be ready to face the consequences, as barely a year remained in the tenure of the present dispensation. He said he had never seen such frustration in any government before. “Even after resorting to booth-capturing and winning the seat, they are indulging in political vendetta just to satisfy their ego,” he remarked.
The SAD President, who personally met the families of all those arrested, announced that the party would fight the legal cases of every Akali worker illegally detained by the Punjab Police. He constituted a legal team of the party especially to handle the Tarn Taran by-poll cases. He also revealed that in many cases, police teams were seizing DVRs and CCTV footage from the homes of Akali workers because their illegal actions had been recorded.
Replying to a media query, Badal alleged that the list of targeted workers had been prepared by Harmeet Singh Sandhu himself — the same leader who recently defected from the Akali Dal to the AAP. “Sandhu is settling personal scores against those who refused to betray the party along with him. He is a traitor who has backstabbed his mother party. This was his last election — the people will never again vote for a deserter,” he declared.
Earlier, he addressed a massive gathering at village Chabal, where he thanked the residents for voting in favour of the Akali Dal despite immense pressure from the AAP government machinery.
