Badal has surrendered before Tohra

JALANDHAR, Dec 6: In a blistering attack on Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh today accused h...

JALANDHAR, Dec 6: In a blistering attack on Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh today accused him of making a complete surrender to radical rightist elements and said such kowtowing to fundamentalists would push Punjab into the dark phase of militancy.

“Badal, by attending the Khalsa March yesterday, has made a complete surrender to hard-liner SGPC chief Gurcharan Singh Tohra, thus sending a confused signal to the people”, Amarinder told PTI here.

He said Badal’s decision to run away from a power showdown with Tohra has left his good friend and liberal media baron Barjinder Singh Hamdard in a lurch.

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“Hamdard had resigned from the presidentship of Anandpur Sahib Foundation in protest against the machinations of the likes of Tohra who wanted to torpedo the Khalsa tricentenary celebrations in order to settle scores with Badal”, he said.

Hamdard, who resigned from the foundation on November 23, is currently the target of attacks by his bitter rival, Akal Takht jathedar Ranjit Singh and Tohra.

Amarinder said he was not surprised by Badal’s move to desert Hamdard as “the weak-kneed Chief Minister is known for using people for short-term gains and then discarding them”. Amarinder also denounced the tricentenary celebrations.

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