Book Kejriwal for trying to secure clean chit to AAP leader: Badal

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday demanded that a case be registered against AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal for “trying to procure a clean chit” to party legislator Naresh Yadav convicted for committing sacrilege of the Quran.

He alleged that Kejriwal also “patronised" Yadav by re-nominating him as AAP candidate from Mehrauli in the Delhi Assembly elections.

The SAD chief also demanded that Cabinet ministers Harpal Cheema and Harjot Bains should be proceeded against for willfully defending a sacrilege accused from their own party and should be dismissed from the council of ministers immediately.

Sukhbir said the conviction of Naresh Yadav had proved that sacrilege of the holy “granths” started in Punjab only after the advent of the AAP in Punjab politics. “We demand a Supreme Court or High Court monitored probe into the 2015 sacrilege cases and are convinced that the AAP hand in committing these heinous crimes will be unmasked,” he asserted.

Badal simultaneously appealed to both senior Congress leaders, Pargat Singh and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who admitted in the Vidhan Sabha and outside that the erstwhile Congress government did politics on the sensitive issue of sacrilege and even shielded the accused to come clean.

“If these two leaders are true Sikhs and stand by the truth as claimed by them, they should name the Congress leaders who shielded the culprits behind the acts of sacrilege. If they do not do this, it will be surmised that they too had a hand in these heinous crimes,” he said.

The SAD chief said it was becoming increasingly clear that sacrileges were committed to stop the SAD and damage it politically as it was doing record development. He said the Malerkotla sacrilege case had exposed the AAP hand in sacrilege cases in Punjab.

“The entire party, from Arvind Kejriwal to senior ministers, tried its best to save Naresh Yadav in the Quran Shareef sacrilege case. Twelve days before Yadav was convicted, the AAP government prevailed upon the Deputy Commissioner to write to the Sessions Court through the Public Prosecutor that the complainant had withdrawn his complaint and that the case should be withdrawn. When the court convicted Yadav nevertheless, Kejriwal renominated him as the party’s candidate from Mehrauli. Can you ever trust such a party?” he asked.

Punjab