Forces against Punjab's progress bent upon disturbing peace: CM Badal

Amritsar, Apr 13: Condemning the attack on Shiv Sena leader Harvinder Soni in Gurdaspur yesterday, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said some forces - in and outside the country - inimical to the progress of the state were hell bent upon disturbing its hard-earned peace.

"But the state government is duty-bound to uphold the ethos of peace, communal harmony, and amity at any cost and will leave no stone unturned for this noble cause," he said.

The chief minister, who was speaking to reporters after enquiring the well being of Soni at a hospital here, said that the state government has always accorded the top priority to maintaining peace, communal harmony, and brotherhood.

Badal, accompanied by DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, said that questioning of the attack-accused revealed that it was an "individual" act and that he was not associated with any group. Sena leader Harvinder Soni was yesterday allegedly shot at by an assailant, later identified as Kashmira Singh, while on his regular walk at Fish Park at Gurdaspur.

The leader's security team had overpowered the assailant who shouted slogans of separate Sikh homeland, police had said earlier. Badal lauded the Punjab police for acting timely against the accused and said that the state police have again upheld its tradition of performing its duty diligently.

Badal also said that along with ushering in an era of "unprecedented development in Punjab, our government has been successful in creating a congenial atmosphere despite the fact that we've a hostile international border".

However, Badal said that some forces, "both from within and outside the country", which were wary of Punjab's progress have been conspiring since long to derail the ongoing development of the state by indulging in disruptive acts. He said the SAD-BJP alliance government was fully determined "to crush the ugly head of such forces".

PTI