No apology can wash your sins, Captain tells Badal

Wednesday, 18/11/2015

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CHANDIGARH: The Congress deputy leader in the Lok Sabha, Capt Amarinder Singh, on Tuesday lashed out at Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal for “cunningly pleading meekness by trying to offer an apology in an apparent bid to cover up all his failures.”

“No apology can wash yours sins,” he told Badal, saying that the CM was again trying to deflect public attention by his “characteristic theatrical histrionics”.

Amarinder also rapped deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal for his ‘malicious’ campaign against the Congress. “His father is claiming to apologise, while Sukhbir is trying to stoke the fires by his provocative statements against the Congress,” he observed.

“The list is too long and if you think that by tendering a verbal apology, without actually meaning it, you will get away with everything, you are badly mistaken,” Amarinder told Badal.

The Congress MP asked what purpose would the apology serve for the families whose innocent boys were killed by the police; for the devout Sikhs whose sentiments had been deeply hurt over the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib; for the innocent youths framed and tortured in police custody; for the families of farmers who committed suicide; those whose crops failed, those whose industrial units had been shut down or the tens of thousands of unemployed youths in the state whom “your police lashes with lathis every now and then.”

Amarinder also asked the deputy CM, also the home minister of the state, to explain the failure of law and order. “How long can you survive by accusing the Congress of supporting the ‘Sarbat Khalsa’?” he asked.

‘MANN LIVING IN FOOL’S PARADISE’
Amarinder took a dig at Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) president Simranjit Singh Mann for his claims that the ‘Sarbat Khalsa’ was a gathering in support of Khalistan.

“Mann is still living in a fool’s paradise,” he remarked, adding that the people there had gathered in anger and outrage against the Badal government. “By saying so, Mann was trying to help Badal, who is also desperately trying to deflect public attention from his failures,” he said.

‘RSS TRYING TO POLARISE PEOPLE’
The ex-CM condemned the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) efforts to polarise people in Punjab by targeting Christians. Referring to RSS functionary Indresh Kumar’s statement in Jalandhar, Amarinder said, “Since the Punjab elections are about a year away, the RSS is trying polarisation here also. We will not allow your (RSS) designs to succeed in Punjab.”