RSS, BJP delegations meet Punjab CM over RSS leader's shooting

Chandigarh, Aug 8: Demanding speedy investigations into the murderous attack on their senior leader, RSS functionaries on Monday met Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal and expressed displeasure over what they termed "deteriorating" law and order in the state.

Demanding the arrest of the culprits responsible for the attack on Punjab Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh Vice-President Brigadier(retd) Jagdish Gagneja in Jalandhar on Saturday, the delegation sought immediate action in the matter.

A delegation of Punjab Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including Union minister and Punjab BJP President Vijay Sampla and Prakash Jha, who is in charge of the party's affairs in Punjab, also met the Chief Minister here.

Gagneja continues to be in a critical condition since he was shot at by two unidentified masked motorcycle-riding assailants in the heart of Jalandhar city on Saturday evening. He is on ventilator support since Sunday, admitted in a leading private hospital in Ludhiana.

"The delegation, in unequivocal terms, conveyed its displeasure over the deteriorating law and order in the state. Whether it is the attack on an RSS 'shakha' in Ludhiana or the daylight murder of (Namdhari sect head's mother) Mata Chand Kaur or incidents of kidnappings and snatching etc., the common man on the streets is feeling insecure," a press statement by the Punjab RSS said.

The Chief Minister, after meeting the two delegations, reiterated his government's resolve to continue to follow a policy of zero tolerance against attempt to disturb the hard-earned peace and communal harmony in the state.

The Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP are partners in the alliance government in Punjab since 2007.

The Chief Minister and his deputy also visited the Hero Heart DMC Hospital in Ludhiana, 110 km from here, on Monday to enquire about the condition of Gagneja.

Sukhbir Badal told the media in Ludhiana that 10 teams of the Punjab Police have been formed to investigate and unearth the conspiracy behind the attack on the RSS leader.

"Those who violated the law would be made to rue the consequences of their actions and face the wrath of law and justice," he said.

A four-member Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director General of Police-cum-Director of Bureau of Investigation I.P.S. Sahota has been set up to investigate the attack and the circumstances leading to it, a Punjab government spokesman said here.

IANS