No move to remove Bibi, says Badal

October 22: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today categorically ruled out any move to remove Bibi Jagir Kaur, President, (SGPC) in the ...

October 22: Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today categorically ruled out any move to remove Bibi Jagir Kaur, President, (SGPC) in the wake of the registeration of a criminal case by the CBI for the mysterious death of her daughter, Harpreet Kaur.

Badal was here to attend a function organised in the memory of Makhan Singh Kang, father of Manjinder Singh Kang, Chairman, Punjab State Forest Development Corporation.

A close associate of Badal said registration of an FIR in itself does not hold Bibi Jagir Kaur guilty of any criminal act and the investigation agencies were yet to probe whether she was involved in the case.

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Badal also denied any move to appoint an acting head of the SGPC and refuted the charges that SGPC’s functioning had suffered due to the absence of Bibi Jagir Kaur.

He said the elections for SGPC would be held next month as per schedule.

When asked whether Bibi Jagir Kaur would contest the polls, he said he would not like to make any statement in this regard. He also refuted allegations of government’s interference in the working of the investigating agency and said the law would take its own course.

Referring to the paddy crisis, he said as the procurement had picked up in the state following negotiations with the Centre, he was hopeful that by the end of this month, over 90 per cent of the paddy would be lifted from the Mandis. He said that up to 70 per cent of the paddy had been procured till now.