AMRITSAR: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Food and Supplies minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu to explain why they were protecting Lok Insaf Party (LIP) leader Simarjit Singh Bains against action in rape cases and asked whether this was being done because the LIP leader had agreed to join the Congress party.
Addressing a press conference here today SAD Spokesman Virsa Singh Valtoha said it was shocking that the Congress government had refused to take action in a complaint of rape and sexual exploitation filed against Simarjit Bains by a woman since more than seven months.
“It was finally left to the courts to direct the police to register a case against Bains immediately but even this direction is not being implemented in letter and spirit. It is nearly one day since the court made its pronouncement but the Ludhiana police are yet to spring to action. This clearly indicates that the Congress government including the chief minister and Ludhiana Congress leader Bharat Bhushan Ashu are patronizing Bains and not allowing the police to proceed against him”, ge said.
Saying this was reprehensible, Mr Valtoha said the Congress government should protect the rights of women instead of patronizing the predators. “It was the job of the Ludhiana Police to register a case against Simarjit Bains immediately after it received a complaint against him from the victim. By not doing so it had committed dereliction of duty. We will make a plea before appropriate courts to ensure officers who did not take steps to defend the honor of the victim are punished appropriately”.
Asserting that all this was being done under an arrangement between Bains and his party and the Congress, Mr Valtoha said “earlier we had told the people how Bholath legislator Sukhpal Khaira had stopped criticizing the Congress party as he was getting ready to join the same. Simarjit Bains has also similarly cozied up to the Congress in return for soft peddling of the complaints being filed against him by women. Bains may cut deals with the Congress but the law of the land is supreme. He will meet his just nemesis for dishonoring women who approached him in good faith as a public representative”, Mr Valtoha added.
Meanwhile, Bibi Jagir Kaur strongly condemned the neglect of the heritage monuments by the present government and said that the SGPC would try to make the environment clean by planting saplings in these monuments.
She said that the Akali government had tried its best to pass on the heritage to the new generation by setting up monuments but the present government was not making serious efforts for the maintenance of these monuments.
Bibi Jagir Kaur, in reply to a question, termed the false propaganda of Sudhir Suri against Sikh principles and Sri Harmandir Sahib as an expression of his sick mentality.
She said that such people were deliberately trying to spoil the peaceful atmosphere of Punjab and were on the lookout for fraternal harmony.
She said that the governments should keep a close eye on such people so that the atmosphere in Punjab would not deteriorate.
Meanwhile, Bibi Jagir Kaur inaugurated the Langar Hall and Diwan Hall at Gurdwara Tap Asthan Baba Buddha Sahib Ramdas and also unveiled the foundation stone of the administrative block at Gurdwara Samadh Baba Buddha Sahib.
Former MLA and Amarpal Singh Bonny Ajnala thanked the SGPC President Bibi Jagir Kaur for arranging the work related to Gurdwara Baba Buddha Sahib at Ramdas town.