As the debate on the Justice Ranjit Singh commission report began, its findings continued to rock the Punjab Vidhan Sabha Tuesday. The House today decided to form a committee to investigate Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal’s allegation that the report was prepared at the “residence of chief minister Amarinder Singh”. The Akalis, meanwhile, have decided to stay away from the debate.
The report by the one-man commission indicted former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal in the 2015 Guru Granth Sahib Sacrilege case, adding that he was well aware of the situation developing at Kotkapura and the subsequent firings that took place. The SAD had rejected the report, calling it “waste paper”.
Denying the commission’s findings, Sukhbir Badal had alleged that the Sikh preacher Baljit Singh Daduwal had a secret meeting with the CM at the latter’s residence to hatch a conspiracy against the Akali Dal leader. While Amarinder Singh has denied any wrongdoing, adding that his residence was a highly-secured zone, he recommended the name of Sukhjinder Randhawa to probe the allegations.
The House passed a resolution, moved by AAP MLA Harpal Cheema, condemning SAD-BJP MLAs for throwing the report in the Assembly. It also passed a censor motion against Lok Insaaf Party (LIP) Simarjit Singh Bains for using abusive words against Congress MLA Harpartap Singh Ajnala.
The Assemebly also passed Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill 2018 to set up Punjab Police Commission. The Act will provide two years tenure to DGP after retirement. The development assumes significance as Punjab’s DGP Suresg Arora is set to retire on September 30.
