Punjab CM, his deputy & Sidhu acting like a 'confused lot': Amarinder
Darpan News Desk IANS, 07 Jan, 2022 12:12 PM
Chandigarh, Jan 7 (IANS) Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Friday lashed out at Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa and Punjab Congress President Navjot Sidhu for their ‘reckless and ‘irresponsible response to the grave security breach during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent Punjab visit.
On Wednesday, the Prime Minister's rally in Ferozepur had to be cancelled due to a security lapse after some protesters blocked a route and forced his convoy to spend about 20 minutes on a flyover. The Prime Minister was enroute the National Martyrs Memorial at Hussainiwala when the incident happened.
"Channi, Randhawa and Sidhu are acting like a confused lot, who have no idea about how to do their job and perform their duties", Amarinder Singh said in a statement here, adding that instead of owning up the responsibility, they are running away from it and passing it on to their juniors, which is cowardice and not true leadership.
Referring to Channi's ‘confusing' and ‘contradictory' statements on the security breach, Amarinder Singh said, "In the morning he says something and orders an inquiry, and by the evening he straightway denies that anything has happened."
He also ridiculed the Chief Minister's statement that he will take bullets in his chest if there was any threat to the life of the Prime Minister.
"You are not there to take bullets on your chest, better focus on your job as the Chief Minister," Amarinder Singh said.
The former CM also took a dig at Deputy CM Randhawa, who also holds the Home portfolio, for saying that Central security agencies should have ensured the safe passage for the Prime Minister.
"The Deputy CM appears to be oblivious of the fact that the Prime Minister was very much in Punjab and it was the duty of the Punjab government to provide all sorts of security," he said, adding: "Recently, you were crying hoarse against extension of BSF's jurisdiction, saying law and order is a state subject although it had nothing to do with law and order. Today you are saying that the same law and order is the responsibility of the Central agencies in order to escape responsibility."
The former Chief Minister also had a word of advice for Sidhu, saying: "You better avoid talking on issues you have absolutely no idea about, like how the Prime Minister's security details are worked out."
"With everyone, particularly his own party and the government having stopped taking him seriously, Sidhu is now trying to wade into the waters he doesn't not know even ABC of," Amarinder Singh said.
The former CM also told the Congress leaders to listen to the wise counsel of their own party President Sonia Gandhi, who has asked the Chief Minister to investigate the matter and fix responsibility.
"Now, I assume, you will say that even Ms Gandhi is trying to side with Prime Minister Modi," he said.
Punjab Congress President Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday proceeded on indefinite fast in support of his demand for action against Ashish Mishra, the son of Union Minister Ajay Mishra and main accused in Sunday's violence in which nine persons, including four farmers, were killed.
Following a tipoff, the DRI sleuths swooped on the port on October 4 and detected the huge narcotics contraband, valued at Rs 125 crore, among boxes of a cooking oil container arriving from Iran and are now probing the possibility of a bigger drug smuggling racket with international ramifications for India and other countries.
A total of 27.6 per cent of the respondents are 'satisfied to some extent', while 6.1 per cent chose the 'can't say/don't know' category. In the 'very much satisfied' category, Uttar Pradesh tops the list at 40.3 per cent, followed by Uttarakhand at 34.8 per cent, Manipur at 33 per cent, Goa at 18.8 per cent and Punjab at 14.4 per cent.
The UK travel advisory had made 10-day quarantine mandatory for Indian travellers, who have received both doses of Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII).
The leaders have been demanding the arrest of Union Minister Ajay Kumar Mishra's son Ashish Mishra in connection with the death of farmers during the violence. Sidhu threatened to go on hunger strike if action is not taken against the minister's son by Friday.
The ministry said that all due protocols and norms relating to Covid-19, as notified by the Union Health Ministry from time to time, shall be adhered to by the foreign tourists, the carriers bringing them to India and all other stakeholders at the landing stations.
