Ahead of special session, CM guns for Akalis & Cong

Hoshiarpur: Ahead of the special Punjab assembly session on April 13 to bring in stricter penal provisions against sacrilege, chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday sharpened his attack on both the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Congress, though his strongest barbs were reserved for the Akalis and the Badals.Addressing a gathering in Hoshiarpur, Mann accused the Akali leadership of exploiting religion for political gain and failing the Panth on key issues, while also describing Congress as a divided house.Targeting Congress, Mann said, "In Congress every leader is aspiring to become the head of the state. They have more CMs rather than ordinary workers to work in the polls." He added the party was weakened by infighting and claimed it would collapse under its internal contradictions.Turning to the Akalis, Mann said, "Akalis betrayed the people by using religion too for securing their vested interests." He alleged that the party had politicised religious institutions and failed to answer for incidents such as the Bargari sacrilege, Kotkapura firing and Behbal Kalan police firing.He said former deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal spoke of development, but "turns a blind eye towards Kotakpura, Behbal Kalan and others where sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib took place and innocents were killed".Stepping up the attack, Mann alleged that the Akalis had "plundered the state mercilessly", patronised mafias and allowed the drug trade to flourish.He also invoked the colonial era, alleging, "Everyone knows that this clan was a stooge of Britishers", and accused the Badal family's forebears of siding with the British and betraying freedom fighters.MSID:: 130090550 413 |