Chandigarh: Congress leader Amarinder Singh on Tuesday lashed out at Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for "cunningly pleading meekness by trying to offer apology in an apparent bid to cover up all his failures".
"No apology can wash yours sins," he told Badal, saying he was yet again allegedly trying to deflect public attention by his "characteristic theatrical histrionics".
The Congress Deputy leader in the Lok Sabha also rapped Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal for his "malicious campaign" against the Congress.
"While on the one hand his father (Badal Sr) was claiming to apologise, Sukhbir was trying to stoke the fires by his malicious and provocative statements against the Congress," he observed.
The former Chief Minister asked Badal "as for what sins he wanted to apologise as the list is too long."
Amarinder said that "if you think that by tendering a verbal apology, without actually meaning it, you will get away with everything you are badly mistaken."
The sitting MP from Amritsar told the Chief Minister that the people are not bothered about his "theatrics as they want concrete action".
"Or is this an admission on your part of your failures which you have realised and now and feel like tendering an apology to the people?" he said in a statement.
The Congress leader further asked "what purpose will the apology serve to the families - whose innocent boys were killed by the police, to the devout Sikhs whose sentiments have been deeply hurt over the desecration of Guru Granth Sahib, to the innocent youth falsely framed and badly tortured in police custody....
"...To the families of farmers who committed suicide, or to those whose crops failed or industrial units have been shut down, or the tens of thousands of unemployed youth in the state whom your (Punjab) police lashes with lathis every now and then," he said in the statement.
Notably, Chief Minister Badal has cautioned the people of the state against "conspiracies" to disturb the hard-earned peace in Punjab and also warned against "attempts to push Punjab back towards dark days of violence and bloodshed".
While addressing a gathering in Ludhiana district on the 100th martyrdom anniversary of Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha yesterday, Chief Minister Badal had urged the people of the state to desist from the nefarious designs of the divisive forces which are trying to create a wedge by "exploiting religious sentiments".
"Our conscience is clean. Still if an apology from me for anything inadvertently done or not done can ensure continuance of peace in the state, then I will not stand on false prestige and will not hesitate in offering an apology. My prestige is too small an issue before the communal harmony which is my top priority." Badal had said yesterday addressing the gathering.
