Attack on Brar: Amarinder questions Badal's silence

Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president and former chief minister Capt. Amarinder Singh on Wednesday questioned silence of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal over the attack on Operation Bluestar Gen Kuldeep Singh Brar in London on Sunday night.

In a strongly worded statement issued here today, Capt Amarinder remarked that Badal’s silence betrayed his moral and physical cowardice. He said it was shocking that the chief minister had preferred to keep quiet on such a critical issue that is directly related to Punjab.

Asking the chief minister to clarify his stand on the assault on Brar, the PCC president said, “Badal’s silence simply amounts to approving the attack”. He added that Badal could not stick to his fence sitting position.

“You are either with the terrorists who attacked Gen Brar or against them,” he told Badal, remarking, “With your silence you have clearly conveyed the message that you are with the terrorists who attacked Gen Brar.”

Maintaining that his stand on the Operation Bluestar was too well known, the former Chief Minister said he did not need a certificate from anybody to prove his credentials, much less Badal, who has a habit and history of 'betrayals' with everyone.

Continuing his attack on Badal, he said, “You need to have moral courage to call spade a spade and that is what I did in 1984 and that is what I am doing now.”

Capt. Amarinder said that when the history of Operation Bluestar would be written, Badal would be squarely held responsible for it as it was his perpetuated indecisiveness, cowardice and pusillanimous character that brought the situation to such an extreme that pushed Punjab into dark era of chaos, anarchy and terror.

The 78-year-old Brar was attacked by some unidentified men with knives in London on Sunday.