Chandigarh-Sukhpal Singh Khaira, MLA Bholath, today issued a sharp condemnation of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for exploiting sensitive religious and human rights issues such as the 1986 Nakodar firing, 2015 Bargari sacrilege, and Behbal Kalan police firing for political gain, while blocking justice for victims and their families.
Khaira accused senior AAP leaders, including Finance Minister Harpal Cheema and Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, of deliberately misusing the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to distract the public from the party’s failure to act on critical human rights violations. Instead of pursuing justice, Khaira said the AAP is using the assembly platform to target political rivals like himself with malicious intent.
“Instead of taking action against the real perpetrators of the Nakodar massacre, AAP leaders are using the Vidhan Sabha to settle personal and political scores. This is a betrayal of the people’s trust and a gross misuse of power,” said Khaira.
Citing a recent media report, Khaira highlighted the statement of Baldev Singh, father of Rupinder Singh, one of the four Sikh youth martyred in the 1986 Nakodar police firing. Baldev Singh has openly alleged that AAP leaders Harpal Cheema and Speaker Kultar Sandhwan are actively blocking justice. He stated that he and other victims’ families have submitted 17 written representations to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, with copies to Cheema and Sandhwan. Instead of acting, the AAP leadership has allegedly chosen to shield the culprits of the Nakodar killings, said Baldev Singh.
“We have sent repeated petitions, including one as recently as October 7, 2023. Despite this, there has been no action, only deception. The AAP government is clearly protecting those responsible for the murders of our sons,” Baldev Singh said.
He further alleged that even when a petition was submitted to the Speaker in September 2022, the case was deliberately manipulated by the state’s Advocate General’s office, allegedly under AAP’s direction, to mislead the High Court, resulting in the disposal of the petition without justice.
“This is nothing short of betrayal. AAP leaders used our grief when they were in opposition to get votes. But now in power, they have completely turned their backs on us,” Baldev Singh said.
Khaira strongly condemned this hypocrisy and questioned why not a single official or politician has been prosecuted in the Nakodar or Bargari cases despite three and a half years of AAP rule.
“AAP’s so-called crusade for justice has turned into a cover-up operation. Like in Bargari, where no justice was delivered, they are now staging drama in the Assembly to distract from their guilt and failure,” Khaira said.
He demanded:
1. The full, unaltered Gurnam Singh Commission Report be tabled in the Vidhan Sabha.
2. A CBI inquiry into the Nakodar firing and sacrilege incidents.
3. Suspension and prosecution of the officers involved.
4. An end to the political exploitation of religious and emotive issues for electoral gain.
“This is no longer just about justice delayed it’s justice denied. I urge Punjabis to see through the AAP’s game. Their fake moral high ground has collapsed,” Khaira concluded.