Jalandhar, April 8, 2025 (Yes Punjab News)
Former deputy chief minister and senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Sukhbir Singh Badal today visited the residence of senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manoranjan Kalia and asserted the grenade attack at the leader’s residence was part of a conspiracy to destabilize Punjab and destroy its peace and communal harmony.
Mr Sukhbir Badal interacted with Mr Manoranjan Kalia and other leaders on the occasion and assured the BJP leader that the SAD would not allow the peace of Punjab to be destroyed at any cost. He also asserted that Hindu-Sikh ‘ekta’ was rock solid and would not be broken by such cowardly attacks.
Expressing shock at the manner in which Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has abrogated his responsibility, Mr Sukhbir Badal said “the present conditions in Punjab are building up in the same manner as in the early 1980’s.
We have witnessed repeated bomb attacks on police stations in the border belt. The Thakurdwara temple in Amritsar was attacked even as statues of Babasaheb B R Ambedkar were vandalized. Now political leaders are being targeted”.
He said despite such provocative incidents which were aimed at driving a wedge between various communities, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government had failed to take any corrective measures. “It seems there is no chief minister in Punjab”, he said while also talking about the gangster raj which had led to the flight of capital from the State as well as patronage being given to the drug mafia by AAP leaders and legislators.
Asserting that all this was due to the manner in which the reins of the State had been handed over to outsiders, Mr Sukhbir Badal said “today we have witnessed how Delhi leader Manish Sisodia’s name is being affixed on plaques commemorating minor repair works in government schools of Punjab. Sisodia has been given responsibility of four departments and has been given a residence in Chandigarh.
He said the same was the case with another “jail bird” Satyendra Jain. “This is a clear violation of the oath of secrecy taken by the council of ministers which does not allow outsiders to access official files or take any decisions on them. Such incidents are unheard of in the history of the State”.
Stating that there was a broader conspiracy to intimidate and even eliminate the opposition, Mr Badal spoke on how the Amritsar police facilitated the attack on him while he was doing ‘sewa’ at the entrance of Sri Darbar Sahib.
“The police Commissioner failed to even visit the crime spot and later deliberately filed a weak challan to ensure the accused was able to secure bail in the case. Even though I was the victim of the attack my statement has not been taken till now nor has any statement of my security detail been taken”, he added. EOM
