Chandigarh, March 17 Ridiculing the Akali chief for his "atrocious lies" that reflected his frustration, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said Sukhbir Badal had clearly lost all sense of proportion in his desperation to get back into the political limelight.
"The whole of Punjab knows what kind of a man the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief is and the people of the state have categorically rejected him and his party - a humiliation that his inflated ego cannot swallow," said the Chief Minister, adding that Sukhbir's latest tirade against the Congress government showed the deep sense of despair he was suffering from.
With his desperate attempts to deflect public attention from the Bargari and other sacrilege cases having fallen flat, Sukhbir was clearly grappling with the harsh reality that his crimes were now catching up with him, said Amarinder Singh, adding that the bundle of lies he had come out with reflected Badal junior's worst fears.
Sukhbir's senseless and unfounded accusations against the Congress in the Bargari case, in particular, showed that he knew he and his party colleagues were well and truly cornered, and would not be able to escape the arm of justice for long, he added.
"Has Sukhbir forgotten that it was he and his family who were at the helm of the government when religious texts were being burnt and torn in Punjab? Has he forgotten that he was the Home Minister of the state when innocent people were fired upon in Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura?" asked the Chief Minister.
Even if he wants to conveniently ignore these hard facts, the people of Punjab have neither forgotten nor forgiven him or his party for what happened under the nose of the SAD-BJP government, Amarinder Singh said in a statement.
The Chief Minister said the fact that Sukhbir had chosen to unleash his viciously false propaganda against the government just a day after the latter had come out with its checklist of successes of the past three years showed the extent of the Akali leader's insecurity.
Sukhbir knows he and his party have no political existence or standing in the state now, he said, adding that while the Akali chief had always been a master of deceit, he had now hit a new low in the face of imminent action in the sacrilege cases.
( With inputs from IANS )