In an unending crisis for the Congress in Punjab, its president Navjot Singh Sidhu hit back at Advocate General (AG) A.P.S. Deol, saying a lawyer who procured blanket protection for the police in the 2015 Kotkapura firing on a gathering of Sikh demonstrators did not have moral or ethical right to continue.
Two days back, Mr. Sidhu publicly withdrew his resignation but said he would resume work as Pradesh Congress Committee chief only if Mr. Deol and DGP (Director General of Police) Preet Singh Sahota, both appointees of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, are removed.
On Saturday, Mr. Deol, in a brief statement, accused Mr. Sidhu of spreading misinformation to gain political advantage over his political colleagues. In response to this, Mr. Sidhu at a press conference in Chandigarh, questioned the police on the firing. He said the Punjab and Haryana High Court had directed that the probe into the incident should be completed preferably within six months.
“Today, six months and one day have passed. Where is the charge sheet [in the matter],” he asked. He further asked why a special leave petition has not been filed against the blanket bail given to former DGP Sumedh Singh Saini, one of the accused in the firing incident.
Technically, Mr. Sidhu stated, any lawyer can become the AG and any IPS officer can become the DGP. But on moral and ethical grounds can Mr. Deol and Mr. Sahota continue, he asked. “Can we appoint a lawyer who has procured blanket protection to the main accused persons in that case as the Advocate General? Or can we have an IPS officer, who was the first investigating officer and gave a clean chit to the main conspirators as the DGP, especially when the case is still being investigated,” he observed.
