Sukhbir blames Amarinder for Amritsar grenade attack

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday blamed Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh for the grenade attack in Amritsar, accusing him of hobnobbing with radicals who are "hell-bent" on fomenting trouble in the state.

"I squarely blame Captain Amarinder Singh for the terror activity, as there is a conspiracy of supporting radicals and encouraging radicals. Today, he is responsible for what happened in Amritsar," Sukhbir told reporters here.

"The CM has hobnobbed with those forces which are hell-bent on fomenting trouble in Punjab," the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief said.

Three persons were killed and over 20 injured when two motorcycle-borne men threw grenade in a prayer hall at the Nirankari Bhavan near Rajasansi on Sunday, an incident which the police are treating as a "terrorist act".

 

"The tragic attack is a direct fallout of the chief minister's policy to support radicals and use them to marginalise the mainstream moderate Akalis," Sukhbir said

"Now, again, Punjab is being pushed into bloodshed," he said, alleging that even the Justice (retd) Ranjit Singh Commission on sacrilege cases was used to divert attention from the "abject failures" of the Congress government.

"Now, after (the) Amritsar incident, people and even Congress leaders are questioning the patronage extended by Capt. Amarinder to radicals. Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu is now blaming Sikh radical Baljit Singh Daduwal for yesterday's tragedy and even talking about the crore of rupees collected by him.

"Why was Bittu silent when we gave proof of the dinner-meeting invitation extended to Daduwal by Amarinder and even details of the Rs 18 crore collected by him?" Sukhbir asked.

Alleging that the state government had completely failed in maintaining the law-and-order situation, Sukhbir said former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal had even written a letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, stating that Amarinder could not run the government.

The Punjab chief minister said Monday initial investigations suggested the grenade used in the attack at the Nirankari Bhawan was similar to the ones manufactured by the Pakistani Army ordnance factory.