No question of revival of terror in Punjab: Badal

Following the recent attack on Dera chief, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said that such incidents aren't an indicator of a return to militancy.

Ruling out revival of terrorism in Punjab, SAD President Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday said incidents like the attack on the Dera chief in which the name of a former Khalistan Commando Force militant has cropped up should not be seen as posing a threat to the state’s peace.

“There is no question of revival of militancy in Punjab. The incident (attack on Dera Sacha Sauda head’s motorcade) happened in Haryana, but we will ensure that law and order in our state is maintained at all costs,” Badal, who last week took over the reigns of SAD from his father and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, told reporters.

The MP was asked to comment on the name of former Khalistan militant Bakshish Singh, who is out on parole, being linked to the attack on the Dera Sacha Sauda chief’s Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s convoy in Karnal district on Saturday.

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Asked to comment on some youth throwing glass bottles at actor Amitabh Bachchan’s residence in Mumbai in the wake of Maharashtra Navanirman Sena attacking the superstar for not giving preference to Maharashtra, he said such incidents should not happen. “It is unfortunate that such things are happening,” he said.

Badal said the ruling SAD-BJP alliance in Punjab will organise a Punjabi Rally in Delhi on February 22 to protest the Centre’s alleged indifference towards the border state especially towards the plight of its debt-ridden farmers.

On the opposition Congress in Punjab threatening statewide protests against the Cabinet giving its approval for “indirect elections” of village chiefs, Badal said, “it only shows their frustration. They were already rejected by people in the polls (state assembly) and now they are feeling desperate”.