With Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal alleging a meeting between Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and a radical Sikh preacher Baljit Singh Daduwal, Punjab Assembly Speaker on Tuesday constituted a House committee, on the CM’s request, to probe the charge.

Intervening on the issue raised by SAD legislator Sukhbir in the Assembly, Amarinder described Sukhbir as a “master of disinformation” as he had misled the House by furnishing wrong information.

The tower locations released by Sukhbir, to prove the meeting, did not even exist, the CM said, adding that the Akali leader was clearly aimed at spreading misinformation.

On the photograph showing him with Daduwal which Sukhbir had flaunted, the CM said it was clicked during a meeting with a delegation that came to meet him at the Punjab Bhavan in June. It was not a secret meeting and was widely covered by the media, he said.

The delegation had consisted of political leaders from different political parties, such as SAD (Mann), SAD (1920), who had come with a charter of demands, including detection of sacrilege cases and arrest of those involved in sacrilege release and transfer of TADA detenus who continue to be in jails both in Punjab jails and outside despite having served their sentences, among other things. Daduwal came along with the delegation of these leaders, Amarinder added.

The fact was that if five persons of similar build and physique were made to stand with Daduwal, he would not be able to identify him, said the CM, adding that the inquiry by the House Committee would nail Sukhbir’s lies and ascertain the truth of the matter. Pointing out that his official residence was under strict CCTV surveillance, the CM dared Sukhbir to get the footage checked.

Earlier, Capt Amarinder Singh proposed the constitution of a House Committee under the chairmanship of Cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa to investigate Sukhbir’s charges, which was allowed by the Speaker Rana Kanwarpal Singh and endorsed by members of Aam Aadmi Party.

On Monday, the CM had lashed out at the SAD president for attempting to mislead the House with his unfounded charges. The allegations were made by Sukhbir soon after the government tabled in the House the Justice (retd) Ranjit Singh Commission report into the sacrilege cases.

Asserting that he had never met Daduwal and does not even recognise him, Amarinder said in response to Sukhbir’s allegations that when he had gone to Bargari after the police firing, he was told that the Sikh preacher was also sitting there. But he had neither seen nor ever met him personally, said the CM.