BJP silent, Akalis continue to attack Amarinder

Chandigarh, Sep 12 (UNI) The tirade of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) against former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh continued, while its alliance partner, the BJP has maintained a stoic silence after the expulsion of the Congress leader from the state Vidhan Sabha on September 10.

Several SAD leaders today again dared Capt Singh to contest and refute the basic facts about his involvement in the Amritsar and Ludhiana land scams instead of issuing what they described as ''insane and hollow statements wrapped in legalistic jargon''. The BJP leaders have not issued a single statement against Capt Singh after his indictment in the Amritsar land scam case by a House Committee while for the second consecutive day statements of Akali leaders continued to flood the media here.

The Akalis emphatically demanded that the Punjab government should enact a legislation to recover the people's money plundered through corrupt means by Amarinder and his coterie through promulgation or ordinance. ''Capt Singh and his coterie should be booked and the ill-gotten money so recovered from them should be deposited in the government treasury,'' the leaders said.

In a joined statement issued here today, MP Rattan Singh Ajnala, Animal Husbandry Minister Guljar Singh Ranike and MLAs, Manjinder Singh Kang, Malkit Singh Jadiala, Dr Dalbir Singh, Amarpal Singh Anjnala, Manjit Singh Mianwind, Harmeet Singh Sandhu, Virsa Singh Valtoha, Gurbachan Singh Babehali, Balbiir Singh Bath and Lakhvir Singh Lodhinagal alleged that instead of facing the investigation against his corrupt malpractices and misdeeds, Capt Singh had 'fled' the country.

These leaders said it was now crystal clear that hue and cry raised by Capt Singh and his coterie was nothing but a ploy to deflect public attention from their own corrupt deeds. They were neck deep in corruption amassing wealth worth millions, the Akali leaders alleged.

The Akali leaders said Capt Singh and his corrupt coterie must be made to pay for the misery heaped on the people and the exchequer of Punjab because of their massive corruption.

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