Badal backed Sidhu in letter, spirit: CM

Interestingly, if Badal’s letters are to believed, Vajpayee had agreed to consider the request ‘‘sympathetically”.

The October 10 letter also refers to the request made by Badal ‘‘personally’’ in May 2001 to Vajpayee and in a letter written on May 3, 2001. ‘‘You had kindly agreed to consider my request sympathetically,’’ wrote Badal.

The letters reveal that Badal made a concerted effort — through personal communication, telephone and letters — to lobby for Sidhu’s cause after May 2001. However, ever since the latter’s arrest on March 25, Badal has maintained that his government had nothing to do with Sidhu as he had been appointed by the then Congress chief minister H.S. Brar in 1996.

Amarinder told mediapersons today that the two letters had been detected in a ‘‘routine’’ scanning of the files of the Chief Minister’s Office. While denying that these letters were meant to cover up the government’s embarrassment following Justice (retd) A.S. Garg’s resignation from the Commission tasked to probe the alleged corruption during the Badal regime, Amarinder also evaded any direct answer when asked if the former

CM would be interrogated by the Vigilance Bureau.

Meanwhile, Badal pooh-poohed the allegations, saying the letters were a bid to deflect the spotlight from Garg’s resignation. ‘‘The letters were with them for nearly a month following the raid on Sidhu’s residence, why did they choose to make them public now?’’ Badal asked.

He said he had shot off ‘‘hundreds of such letters of recommendation’’. ‘‘When these were written, we were unaware of Ravi Sidhu’s corrupt dealings.’’

Though the theme of the two letters released today is identical, in the December 26 missive, Badal cites his own ‘‘personal and political’’ interests. He wrote: ‘‘…his appointment will be very much in the interests of the people of Punjab .. I hope you will consider my request sympathetically as it is personally and politically important to me.’’