Badal against using POTA in Punjab

Khadoor Sahib, Tarn Taran, Sep 18 (UNI) Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today ruled out the possibility of use of POTA in the state, saying that complete peace, communal harmony and brotherhood prevailed here.

''POTA has no relevance here as the people were firmly against terrorism and fundamentalist forces,'' he told mediapersons here.

Mr Badal said the people of Punjab had suffered during the period of terrorism and the bitter memories of those black days were still fresh in their minds. ''It was a unfortunate period in the history of Punjab that retarded the process of development in the state,'' he added.

The Chief Minister was of the opinion that sometimes the strict provisions of laws like POTA created fear psychosis and uncertainty in the minds of the people. Such laws should be applied sparingly where the law and order situation was beyond anyone's control, especially in the Naxalites-infested states like Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand.

He said the law and order situation in Punjab was absolutely normal and did not warrant such laws. The people here have complete faith in the law and order and they always extend cooperation to the police in containing nefarious activities of anti-social and anti-national elements.

Denying charges of political vendetta, Mr Badal said the murder case against former Congress MLA Jasbir Singh Dimpa was registered during the assembly election campaign when the Congress was in power. The Ludhiana City Centre scam case against his predecessor Capt Amarinder Singh was registered on the basis of an inquiry by the Vigilance Bureau, he claimed while pointing out that the inquiry was intiated by Capt Singh.

UNI