Amarinder welcomes SC judgement on bypoll

Patiala, Oct 3 (UNI) Former Punjajb chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh today expressed his gratitude to the people of Patiala for always standing by him in every hour of crisis.

Reacting to the Supreme Court's order staying the vacation of the Patiala town assembly seat which was represented by him, Capt Singh said that he had faith in the country's judiciary.

Buoyed by the Supreme Court relief, Capt Singh observed that the Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state was desperate to rush through the by-election to the Patiala assembly segment with the sole motive of keeping him away from the state legislature.

''But they will never succeed in their designs,'' he remarked in a statement while preferring to remain silent on the apex court order refusing to stay the orders of the state Assembly expelling him for his alleged involvement in the Amritsar Improvement Trust land scam case which was probed by a House Committee.

Capt Singh said the way Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had been promising generous funds for Patiala made it too obvious as to what he (Badal) and his government were up to. '' Let us hope that Mr Badal keeps his promise with the people of Patiala and gives all the money he has announced, albeit with an eye on elections,'' he added.

The scion of the Patiala family had a special word of gratitude for the people of Patiala who, cutting across religious lines were praying in their respective religious places since morning for a favourable order from the Apex Court in his expulsion case.

Capt Singh said he was confident that the unilateral decision of the Punjab Assembly to expel him would not stand judicial scrutiny.

UNI XC HS PK MIR KP1958