Badal, Amarinder spar over Punjab incidents

The war of words between Punjab's ruling Akali Dal and the Congress escalated today with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal accusing Congress of fomenting trouble in the state by encouraging secessionist forces, a charge rejected by the opposition party.

On a day they shifted their battle to the national capital, Badal and Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Amarinder Singh held separate press meets here hurling charges and counter-charges.

The Akali leader alleged that Congress leaders shared stage with radical and separatist elements at a recent gathering in Amritsar, where demand for Khalistan was raked up.

Badal, who is the chief of Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal), also met President Pranab Mukherjee and demanded that action should be taken against Congress and the party should be "derecognised" as it was "anti-national".

He alleged that under Rahul Gandhi's leadership Congress was trying to create the same environment in Punjab that it suffered during the years of militancy.

Dismissing the charges that his party was supporting radical and anti-national forces, Amarinder said Badal was trying to shift the blame on Congress to hide his own failures.

"We in Congress do not need any lessons on patriotism and nationalism from someone like Sukhbir Badal, whose father and Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal still takes pride in having burnt the copies of the Constitution of India during Khalistan movement," he told reporters here.

Describing the Punjab situation as "controlled destablisation by the ruling Akalis which has gone out of control", he said the Badals were trying to divert public attention after sensing growing disenchantment with the Akali regime.

Referring to the 'Sarbat Khalsa', the religious congregation of the Sikhs held at Amritsar recently, Amarinder said the presence of huge number of people there was an "expression of anger" against the Badal government and not to support Khalistan as being projected by Badal and Khalistan protagonist Simranjit Singh Mann together.

On Badal's remark that two Congress leaders were present in the congregation, Amarinder said they went in their "personal capacities" to seek a solution to recent acts of sacrilege in their areas and that Congress has nothing to do with it.

On Sukhbir's claims that he had proof as to how anti-national resolutions at the 'Sarbat Khalsa' were prepared and passed, what was he doing as the Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister of the state.

"Does his responsibility finish at blaming the Congress," he asked, adding, he should better own the moral responsibility and resign.

"It is natural for Sukhbir and his father to feel frustrated that when Rahul Gandhi is hailed and welcomed with open arms across Punjab while going on padyatra, the Badals cannot even dare to venture out lest people thrash them like their ministers," he alleged in a statement here.

Amarinder claimed that Sukhbir is only betraying his frustration and "congenital obsession" of blaming Congress for their own wrongs.

The former Punjab Chief Minister said the Akalis including Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy were "unnerved" seeing the growing popularity of Congress in the state and had now launched a "malicious and slanderous" campaign against the party and its leaders.

He claimed that there are reports of Akali leaders, ministers and legislators being thrashed by people out of anger, saying, "their (Badals') frustration is natural".

Only yesterday, he said a Punjab minister was "slapped" by an elderly angry farmer in his home town.

Taunting the Akali leadership, Amarinder said only a week back Badal had said that the "ISI was behind all the trouble" in Punjab.

"Now all of a sudden he has woken up alleging that Congress was behind all this," he said while asserting that Congress is a secular and nationalist party which has made huge sacrifices to safeguard the unity and integrity of the country

Badal said the Punjab government has also written to the Home Ministry regarding the developments in the state.

The role of Congress, he claimed, had been "exposed" as its leaders had attended the gathering in Amritsar on November 10 where "the major demand was for a separate state of Khalistan".

Referring to the 'Sarbat Khalsa', he said they appointed the convict in Beant Singh assassination case as 'jathedar' or chief priest. Rahul Gandhi, he alleged, went to Punjab and encouraged radical elements at a time when Pakistan's ISI is already on the lookout to foment trouble in the state and demanded action against the Congress.