Dr Daljit Singh Cheema says Cong govt become jittery that independent probe would nail CM and his coterie
Asks four ministers to tell why no action taken against two MLAs behind illegal distillery in Patiala
Asks four ministers to explain why no case registered against four Cong MLAs accused of distributing spurious liquor by hooch tragedy victim families
Chandigarh, August 03, 2020: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today said the Congress government had gone into panic mode as the roots of the hooch tragedy led to the chief minister’s office and that was why sycophant ministers had been roped in to cover up the sins of the Congress party and its legislators.
In a statement here, SAD Spokesman Dr Daljit Singh Cheema while commenting on an identical statement released by four different ministers, said the parroting of old lies indicated that chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and his coterie had become jittery that given the scale of the human tragedy an independent inquiry by a sitting judge of the high court or the CBI would nail them. “This is why four ministers have been put into service to launch a false, baseless and politically motivated counter attack on the SAD instead of taking any effort to nab the Congress legislators and distillery owners associated with the Congress party who were responsible for the murder of nearly 150 persons”.
Stating that the SAD would not rest till justice was done to the victims of the biggest hooch tragedy in the history of the State, Dr Cheema said “no amount of damage control by even the entire cabinet can save Congmen who have played with the lives of innocent people by supplying poisonous alcohol to them”. He said the Congress government was compounding its sin by trying to be brazen about the man made tragedy inflicted by it on Punjabis. “Punjabis expected that the ministers would go to the chief minister and explain the magnitude of the tragedy to him. Instead they, including Health minister Balbir Sidhu, are shamelessly indulging in a cover up exercise indicating they have a stake in ensuring a quick burial of this issue”.
The SAD leader asked the four ministers who were trying to defend murderers to tell Punjabis why the Congress government did not take action against two Congress legislators who were behind the illegal distillery cum bottling plant unearthed in Patiala. He said if stern action had been taken against the legislators then 150 lives would have been saved. “Instead of doing this the government is still trying to protect the mlas by refusing to transfer files of the case to the Enforcement Directorate”.
He also asked the four ministers to tell people why the government was shielding four Congress MLAs of the Majha region who had been charged with distributing spurious liquor by hooch tragedy victim families. He said similarly the ministers should explain why they had accused a former chief secretary of misbehaviour when the latter accused them of being responsible for loss of excise revenue and then affected a compromise with him. “Doesn’t this prove that you all are complicit in the Rs 5,600 crore excise loss as well as the deaths of 150 persons who died because you failed to take action against Congmen and distilleries engaged in sale of illegal liquor and smuggling of spirit respectively?” Dr Cheema asked.
Asking the Congress ministers not to try to divert attention from the hooch tragedy with wild allegations, the SAD leader said they should tell why the money made from the sale of illegal liquor had not been recovered till yet. “False and mischievous press releases cannot wash away your sins. Your hands are stained with the blood of innocent victims. The SAD will ensure justice is done to the victims families try as you might to shield the perpetrators of this gruesome crime against humanity”, Dr Cheema added.