Will resign as MLA on Friday over inaction against Badal, former Punjab DGP: Phoolka

AAP MLA H S Phoolka announced on Thursday that he will resign as legislator as the Punjab government had "failed to take action" against former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal and retired DGP Sumedh Singh Saini in the police firing incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan.

Phoolka, MLA from Dakha constituency, said he will resign from the post on Friday in protest of the Congress government's failure to punish the guilty.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader's decision comes a month after he gave a 15-day ultimatum to the Punjab government to arrest Badal and Saini. Later, however, he deferred his decision to resign.

 

Phoolka said in a written statement here, on the writ petition filed by Saini, the Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday directed the state government that in case the police decide to arrest the former DGP, then a week's notice should be given to him.

"That means neither there is any stay against investigation nor any stay against arrest, only seven days' notice is to be given. So now it is clear that there is no legal impediment against initiating criminal proceedings against Saini or Badal," he said.

"But unfortunately, the Congress government is not taking any action as it has dishonest intentions. The Congress government is shielding the guilty," he alleged.

Phoolka said he will not be able to submit his resignation to the Vidhan Sabha Speaker personally as an important case related to the 1984 riots is listed in the Delhi High Court.

He added that he will send his resignation to the Speaker and submit a copy to the Election Commission of India in Delhi at 3 PM on Friday.

In September, Phoolka had alleged that due procedure was not followed by the police in firing incidents at Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan in October 2015. Two people were killed in the firing at protests against sacrilege of the Guru Granth Sahib.

According to the report of Justice (retd) Ranjit Singh Commission, set up to probe the sacrilege and firing incidents, Badal and Saini were "aware" of the proposed police action to disperse the protesters at Kotkapura by using force.

It held that the police opened fire in Behbal Kalan, in which two people were killed, "without any warning and without taking permission from civil authorities".