Ridiculing SAD president Sukhbir Badal over his “crocodile tears” on the Bargari sacrilege issue, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Wednesday made it clear that the State Government would follow the cases through to their logical conclusion.

The Chief Minister has asked the state Advocate-General Atul Nanda to look into all the legal options to take the case to its logical conclusion.

Reacting to the Akali Dal’s decision to challenge the CBI closure in the Bargari cases, the Chief Minister lashed out at Sukhbir for trying to fool the people by pretending to be concerned about the issue.

Instead of probing the matter himself, Sukhbir, who was then Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister of the state, had been responsible for sending the first three cases related to the Bargari issue to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), pointed out the Chief Minister. Now that the CBI has completed its probe and filed a closure report, Sukhbir is getting the jitters, indicating complicity at some level in the entire affair, he added. “How else can the SAD decision to challenge the CBI closure report in court be explained,” asked Capt Amarinder, lambasting Sukhbir for once again seeking to politicize the sensitive issue and possibly to wriggle out of his own responsibility in ensuring a fair and thorough probe into the matter under the SAD-BJP rule. The Chief Minister asked Sukhbir not to forget the simple fact that even now, when the CBI has filed the closure report which he wants to challenge, it is the NDA Government in power at the Centre, with his SAD a part of it. It is time to stop trying to fool the people by twisting facts and raising false flags, he told the SAD president.

Reiterating his promise to bring to book all those involved in the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib, and the subsequent police firing on peaceful protestors, Capt Amarinder said that his Government was committed to expose the entire conspiracy that was clearly behind the incident. “Nobody can be allowed to get away with such brazen attempts to spread disharmony in the state,” he declared.

GET CLOSURE REPORT OF CBI REJECTED BY UNION CABINET: RANDHAWA CHALLENGES SUKHBIR

Punjab Cabinet Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa on Wednesday challenged the SAD president Sukhbir Badal to get the closure report of CBI rejected by the Union Cabinet, of which SAD is the part and its Bathinda MP Harsimrat Badal is the Minister.

“SAD president Sukhbir Badal should stop the drama of crying hoarse over the closure report filed by the CBI in the incident pertaining to the sacrilege of Guru Granth Sahib at Bargari as it was during the SAD-BJP’s tenure that the sacrilege incident took place,” he said.

Reacting to SAD core committee’s decision of rejecting the CBI closure report, Randhawa said that if Sukhbir cared so much about the Sikh interests as he loudly professes at every platform, he should get the closure report rejected by the Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal in the meeting of the Union Cabinet instead of the SAD core committee.

“If the Union Cabinet refuses to reject the closure report, Harsimrat must immediately tender her resignation and show solidarity with the panth,” he said.

Randhawa said that there was no use meeting the Union Home Minister Amit Shah over the issue as the latter would not take a decision inimical to the agency which is directly under the command of the Union Government, especially his Ministry.

SAD’S “POLITICAL GIMMICK TO GRAB EYEBALLS” AAP

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday said that the SAD’s decision to reject the CBI’s closure report in Bargari sacrilege case was “nothing but a political stunt” enacted by the Badals, who were privy to the chain of events.

AAP MLA and the Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Harpal Singh Cheema said that SAD chief Sukhbir Badal was a master of theatrics who knew how to leverage a given situation in earning brownie points. “The Badals, who were privy to the chain of events relating to the act, are now shedding crocodile tears. It is disgraceful that those who are allegedly involved in the case as their own government is in power then are expressing sheer ignorance, out to gain sympathy from the people,” he said.

Expressing surprise over the hip hop on the development, Cheema said that it was only due their overriding intervention in the affairs of investigating teams that those behind the incidents were walking free.