Questioning the deployment of large number of para military forces in Punjab for the on-going operation against pro Khalistan leader Amritpal Singh and his supporters, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Government was creating hype over separatism to hide its failures.
Addressing a press conference, senior leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said the AAP Government had become a party whose aim is to defame Punjab and Punjabis in its bid to play politics of polarisation in league with the Centre to hide its failures on all fronts.
Dr Cheema further said that the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann should tell why scores of para military forces were used to project that a war was being waged against the country, but the contours of the conspiracy had not been outlined till now. “It seems a deliberate attempt is being made to recreate the atmosphere of the 1980’s”, he added.
The SAD leader said the government had disclosed that a total of 353 persons had been arrested and that 197 out of these had been let off. “The government has also indicated that there is nothing incriminating against 156 more persons and that only 40 persons had serious cases pending against them. The government must tell what it had found out. As of now what has been revealed are only cases under the Arms Act,” Dr Cheema said.
Asking the government not to engage in a defamation exercise of Punjab and Punjabis, the SAD leader said, “The state is already witnessing a flight of industry. We have witnessed open gang warfare besides constant cases of extortions and kidnappings. Even sensitive cases like the Sidhu Moosewala murder remain unresolved. Instead of resolving these issues, the government is creating hype over separatism to hide its failures”.
He said the truth had been revealed by the Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij who disclosed that the Punjab Police did not reach Shahabad (Kurukshetra) for one-and- half-days despite credible information of Amritpal’s whereabouts.