SAD urges Governor to annul MoUs between Delhi and Punjab, Demands CBI probe into Patiala clash

Chandigarh, May 5 – The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today urged Punjab Governor Bawarilal Purohit to direct the Punjab government to annul the unconstitutional agreement arrived at with the Delhi government which handed over all its powers to the latter even as it demanded a CBI inquiry into the Patiala clash which it termed as a deep rooted conspiracy to spoil peace and communal harmony in Punjab.

A senior SAD delegation led by party President Sukhbir Singh Badal which met the Governor in the Raj Bhawan, also asked the latter to seek legal counsel and take appropriate action against chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and his council of ministers for violating the oath of secrecy by signing away control of the State to the Delhi government. It also apprised the Governor that the agreement signed between the Punjab and Delhi governments was against the spirit of federalism. Asserting that it was for the first time in the history of the country that an elected State had ceded its administration to another State, the SAD delegation urged the Governor to direct the Punjab government not to allow the Delhi government to interfere in its internal affairs. It said no official file should be sent to Delhi for perusal, saying Punjabis would never tolerate such subjugation by the Delhi government. SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal apprised the Governor about the recent clash in Patiala and how the chief minister refused to take any action to avert it despite having been given advance notice of the same four days in advance. Asserting that there seemed to be a deep rooted conspiracy to divert attention from the failures of the AAP government through such actions, Badal said it was even more disconcerting that instead of taking action against the main conspirators, the AAP government tried to turn it into a fight between two political parties. The delegation members including Balwinder Singh Bhundur, Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, Sikandar Singh Maluka and Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said Punjab had not witnessed any communal clash even during the worst period of terrorism and it was condemnable that such a clash had occurred in Patiala. They said intelligence reports were ignored and no action was even taken on complaints by Sikh organizations that a deliberate attempt was being made to stoke communal passions. The delegation said even now no effort was being taken to book the miscreants and innocents were being harassed. It said only a CBI inquiry or a probe by a sitting judge of the high court could unmask the conspiracy and ensure justice in the case. The delegation also urged the Governor to direct the AAP government to put an end to wasteful expenditure in the form of advertisements worth crores proclaiming achievements which had not even occurred in far off States even as Punjab was under a crippling debt of Rs 3 lakh crore. It pointed out that crores were being spent every day on needless advertisements adding the AAP government had asked people of various States to give their suggestions on the contents of the Punjab budget. It urged the Governor to order examination of the scam in the form of kickbacks given to place advertisements which ran into crores. Also Read |Nearly 13 million US children infected with Covid-19 -PTC News