Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Sunday launched a pointed attack on chief minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing his government of corruption and alleging that people facing serious criminal charges were being given protection in return for crores.
He further announced that the minimum support prices (MSPs) for milk and vegetables will be fixed. Sukhbir alleged that five women had initially approached the chief minister seeking action against Chahal, but no relief was provided to them. He claimed that after two of the women subsequently registered rape cases against Chahal in Amritsar and Mohali, Gurpreet Kaur Mann began negotiating with the accused.
For youth, Sukhbir announced an interest-free loan of up to ₹ 10 lakh. He also said government jobs would be reserved for Punjabis and that industries would be required to provide 75% of their jobs to Punjabis.
He claimed this ultimately resulted in Chahal being released from jail within two months, while police in both Amritsar and Mohali filed cancellation reports. Sukhbir alleged that the chief minister called the police chiefs of Amritsar and Mohali, Gurpreet Singh Bhullar and Harmandeep Hans, to his residence and instructed them to dilute the cases against Chahal. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been refuting the allegations, terming them politically motivated and aimed at tarnishing the state government’s image. The SAD president also criticised the Waris Punjab De outfit and questioned the credentials of its head, Amritpal Singh, the jailed Khadoor Sahib MP.
He alleged that Amritpal had adopted the Gursikh identity only around four years ago before entering politics and claimed that his family had been aligned with the Congress for more than 36 years.
Sukhbir said the SAD will seek justice for the women and action against all those responsible, including police officers.
