Punjab Cabinet Ministers and Shiromani Akali Dal leaders on Monday were engaged in a war of words over the hooch tragedy that has claimed 108 lives in the State so far.
Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu, Sports Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, Food Minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Social Security Minister Aruna Chaudhary issued separate statements hitting out at the Akali leaders for blaming the Amarinder Singh government for the tragedy.
Mr. Sodhi said SAD blaming the Amarinder Singh government for the tragedy was nothing but “pot calling the kettle black” as similar incidents had occurred in 2012 and 2016 in Gurdaspur and Batala respectively during their regime. “These tragedies too claimed several lives during the SAD-BJP government. In the Batala case, neither any FIR was registered nor was any action taken against the main accused.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Sidhu said the Chief Minister has ordered a crackdown on those involved in the spurious liquor trade.
Meanwhile, the death toll has gone up to 108, with 82 deaths in Tarn Taran and 13 each in Amritsar and Batala, according to an official statement.
SAD leaders said the government has gone into panic mode. Akali spokesperson and former Minister Daljit Singh Cheema said identical statements have been released by four Congress Ministers, which indicates that the Chief Minister and his coterie has become jittery as an inquiry by a sitting Judge of the High Court or the CBI would nail them. “This is why four Ministers have launched a false, baseless and politically motivated counter-attack. SAD would not rest till justice was done to the victims,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Punjab police have apprehended 12 more persons, including two businessmen, and launched a manhunt for a Ludhiana-based paint business owner, Rajesh Joshi, who had initially supplied the three drums of spurious liquor. DGP Dinkar Gupta said the total number of arrests has gone up to 37, including five kingpins of the illicit liquor mafia.