Cong opposes separate civil code for Sikhs

He recalled earlier, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had got the issue examined by a panel of lawyers and it was rejected. quot;It is a closed chapter even for the Akalis,quot; he asserted.

Before Operation Bluestar, the Akalis had protested against Explanation II of Article 25 of the Constitution describing the Sikhs as Hindus.

He was on the defensive on the induction of leaders like H K L Bhagat and Sajjan Kumar by the Congress high command in the campaign committee for Delhi polls, which has evoked a strong reaction from former Union minister S S Ahluwalia. These leaders are under a cloud for their role in the November 1984 violence against the Sikhs in Delhi.

Amarinder Singh criticised Ahluwalia for taking the issue to the press and felt this should have been avoided. He said the Congress had already committed to taking action against the guilty in case the party returned to power. He said a high powered commission would go into this violence in case the Congress formed the government in Delhi.

The PPCC chief demanded a CBI inquiry into the sale of spurious pesticides in the state which had resulted in crop loss, especially cotton. He alleged that one of the firms involved in the supply of spurious pesticides was owned by a relative of Badal. He said boll worm, which had damaged the cotton crop, had become resistant to the sprays. He pointed out during a similar situation earlier when he was the state agriculture minister in the Akali Dal government, the pesticides had been imported.

Referring to the November 25 Adampur Vidhan Sabha bye-election in the state, Amarinder Singh said the Bahujan Samaj Party should withdraw its candidate as that would only help the Akali Dal. He said the Congress had a claim to this seat as its candidate polled the second highest votes in the last election.

He clarified the Congress had to announce the candidate without consulting other Opposition parties, especially the two Communist parties, as the Akali Dal had already taken the lead. quot;We would get the support of the Leftquot;, he said confidently, adding the Congress candidate should have been accepted automatically. He criticised the arrest of party leader Gurbir Singh Baku in Ludhiana and alleged that this was being done at the behest of Science and Technology Minister Mahesh Inder Singh Grewal.