The Hindu : 'Punjab Govt. carrying out political vendetta'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Jun 16, 2002

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'Punjab Govt. carrying out political vendetta'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI JUNE 15. The Opposition Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party in Punjab today demanded that the Centre put the three-month old Amarinder Singh Government on notice for "virtual breakdown of law and order and rigging of the panchayat elections".

A delegation of SAD-BJP MLAs and MPs, led by the former Punjab Chief Minister and SAD chief, Parkash Singh Badal, met the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, here and complained of the "political vendetta" being carried on by the Punjab Government against opponents. They also asked the Centre to send a National Democratic Alliance team to the State to assess the law and order situation.

The Home Minister, L.K. Advani, was present during the 90-minute meeting.

Mr. Badal, who was accompanied by the Union Fertilizer Minister, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa, told presspersons that Mr. Vajpayee had assured them that the issue of sending a team would be discussed with the NDA convener, George Fernandes.

In the three-page memorandum submitted to Mr. Vajpayee, the delegation demanded that the Centre intervene in Punjab under Article 248 and "caution" the State Government, which they alleged had "unleashed and sustained a reign of terror against the SAD-BJP combine". They accused Capt. Amarinder Singh of protecting one of his Ministers allegedly involved in the murder of the SAD candidate, Gurdial Singh, in May. The State Government, they alleged, had earlier turned down a request by the slain leader for police protection.

The Opposition MLAs charged that the Punjab Government had embarked upon "an avoidable political vendetta", which could be proved through an inquiry by an independent agency.

Mr. Dhindsa said the State Government was "registering false cases of corruption" against former Ministers. In the name of fighting corruption, the State Government should not target political rivals, he said, adding that cases, if any, could be referred to the Lok Pal.

Complaints of "rigging" in the recently-concluded zilla parishad and municipal corporation elections were also made by the delegation.

They charged that names of eligible SAD-BJP voters had been "deliberately deleted with a mala fide intention and replaced with names of non-existent persons or Congress supporters". A formal complaint has already been lodged with the State Election Commission.

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