Cong MLAs slam report indicting Capt

As many as 30 Congress MLAs, in a statement released to the media today, said the policy under which the Congress government exempted the land in Amritsar from acquisition was only a continuation of what was laid down by the previous Akali government led by Parkash Singh Badal.

Reacting to assertions by Harish Rai Dhanda, MLA and chairman of the House committee that prepared the report, Congress MLA Jeet Mohinder Singh said the Akali government had exempted 87 acres in Amritsar much before the Congress exempted 32.5 acres. The MLAs alleged that even though Leader of Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal gave names of the three Congress MLAs to be a part of the committee, they withdrew and expressed dissent after they felt that there was an 8220;ulterior8221; motive in the committee8217;s functioning, intended to indict the former CM and others regardless of the evidence they gathered.

Jeet Mohinder said, 8220;Harish Dhanda needs to go back to law school. The five Judge SC judgment of 2002 in the Gujarat Assembly case, clearly stating that 8216;any issue of the previous House cannot be taken up or discussed by the next House8217; is all that Dhanda needs to study.8221;

The Congress MLAs alleged that the decisions of the committee were biased and politically motivated keeping in mind the standing of Captain Amarinder Singh and the ensuing Lok Sabha elections. The MLAs who signed the statement include O.P. Soni, Darshan Singh Brar, Gurpreet Kangar, Ajaib Singh Bhatti, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Makhan Singh, Luv Kumar Goldy, Rana KP Singh, Sukh Sarkaria, Mangat Rai Bansal, Sher Singh Gaggowal, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Sunil Jakhar, Ajitinder Singh Moffar, Surjit Singh Dhiman, Ajit Singh Shant, Ishar Singh, JP Jain, Joginder Singh Panjgrain, Harmohinder Singh Pradhan,Sunny Brar, Nirmal Singh, Harchand Kaur, Avtar Singh Brar, Naresh Kataria and Jeetmohinder Singh Sidhu.