SHIFTING BHULLAR FROM TIHAR TO AMRITSAR JAIL - SAD, BJP want to polarise state, alleges Bajwa
Saturday, 13/06/2015
http://www.indiapress.org/gen/news.php/The_Tribune/
Adampur (Jalandhar) : Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Partap Singh Bajwa today said bringing 1993 bomb blast convict Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar in Punjab was part of the SAD-BJP alliance’s plan to polarise the state on communal lines. He said it wanted to play with the sentiments of both Sikhs and Hindus ahead of the Assembly elections.
He was here in Haripur and Sanaura villages of Adampur constituency as part of his mass contact programme in 34 reserved Assembly segments of the state. Bajwa said, “The Congress has no reservation in shifting any prisoner from one state to another. It is the prerogative of the state and the Centre. Our party is not even against the release of anyone who has undergone imprisonment till the time it is felt that it can endanger the peace of the state.”
He said, “The SAD wants to please the hardliners and economically powerful Sikh diaspora settled abroad. At the same time, it will be a win-win situation for BJP, which has failed to woo traders and now wants to appease the Hindu voters with its contrary statements on the issue.”
He said, “In 2008, it was the Akali government that had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court saying if Bhullar is brought back to Punjab from Delhi, it could endanger peace in the state. I want to ask them how has the ground reality changed now.”
Chandigarh: Questioning the transfer of Devinderpal Singh Bhullar to the Amritsar jail, the Punjab Congress today alleged that there was a high-level conspiracy behind it. The party asked Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to clarify his stand on the issue.
State Congress spokesperson Nimisha Mehta said in a statement that it was surprising that Bhullar was being shifted to the Amritsar jail whereas he belonged to Dialpura Bhai Ka village in Bathinda district. Bhullar’s wife Navneet Kaur was a Canadian citizen, she said.
Mehta said the CM has maintained a silence on the issue so far. He must clarify on the shift in government stand towards militants.
