In a scathing attack, senior Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira has launched a fierce accusation against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab. He has labeled the administration's prolonged failure to deliver justice in the sensitive cases of Guru Granth Sahib sacrilege and the Behbal Kalan police firing as a "criminal betrayal" of the Sikh community.
Four Years of Broken Promises and Hollow Slogans
Khaira's statement, issued on Saturday, comes at a politically charged moment when the AAP government itself is highlighting the issue of 328 missing saroops (copies) of the Guru Granth Sahib. The Congress MLA, however, turned the spotlight back on the state's inaction. He asserted that the continued denial of justice is not mere administrative failure but a calculated and sinister deception played upon the religious sentiments of Sikhs for electoral benefits.
He reminded the public that before coming to power, both AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had made bold promises. Kejriwal had allegedly vowed to deliver justice within 24 hours, while Mann repeated similar assurances to garner votes. "Today, after 4 long years, AAP stands fully exposed as a party of fraud, hypocrisy and hollow slogans," Khaira alleged.
Selective Speed: FIRs vs. Justice
Khaira posed a pointed question to the state government, highlighting a stark contrast in its operational speed. "Why is it that this govt moves at lightning speed to slap false FIRs on opposition leaders, journalists and dissenters, but suddenly becomes paralysed, blind and mute when it comes to arresting those who desecrated Guru Granth Sahib and those who ordered bullets to be fired at unarmed Sikh protesters at Behbal Kalan?" he asked.
This comparison underscores a central theme of the opposition's critique: that the government is swift in political maneuvering but entirely ineffective in resolving a matter of deep religious and emotional significance for the state's populace.
A Smokescreen of Inquiries and SIT Changes
The Congress leader dismissed the government's actions over the past four years as mere theatrics designed to obscure the truth. He claimed that the repeated changes of Special Investigation Teams (SITs), endless inquiries, and media announcements were nothing but a smokescreen. Their primary purpose, according to Khaira, is to protect the powerful beneficiaries behind the sacrilege incidents and the subsequent police excesses.
This allegation strikes at the heart of the government's credibility on the issue, suggesting that the investigative processes have been deliberately convoluted to avoid reaching a conclusion.
The statement from Sukhpal Singh Khaira significantly raises the political temperature in Punjab. It directly challenges the AAP government's core claim of providing a clean and just administration. By invoking the unresolved pain of the sacrilege cases and the Behbal Kalan firing, the opposition aims to puncture the ruling party's support base, especially among the Sikh community, as the state continues to grapple with these historic wounds.
