No political vendetta against Bajwa: Sukhbir Singh Badal

LUDHIANA: Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today said no political vendetta was being carried out against Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa, who is accused of being involved in murky land deals in the state.

Speaking on the issue, Badal denied that any vendetta was being carried out against the PCC chief, and said his party did not believe in the "politics of retribution".

"SAD does not believe in the politics of retribution. Our priority is the overall development of the state," Badal said, claiming that it was Congress which had indulged in revenge politics.

"It is we who have faced vendetta at the hands of Congress during its earlier tenure in office," he said.

"If at all we have to talk about political vendetta, it must be recorded that it was the Congress government which had registered a false case against my mother. Wasn't that a case of political vendetta?" he said.

The deputy chief minister said the Revenue Department has been entrusted with the inquiry into the alleged land grab by Bajwa and his brother around the periphery of Chandigarh.

Replying to a query on the Ludhiana Metro Rail Project, he said the project cost was Rs 10,000 crore, which was being provided by the Centre as well as international companies.

Keeping in view the nature of the project, it would take at least five years to be completed, he said.

On the alleged involvement of certain political leaders in cases of drug smuggling, he said the state government had launched a massive campaign against drugs and it was committed to taking strict action against anybody caught in the smuggling net, howsoever senior or politically well-connected he may be.

Lashing out at Punjab Congress, he asked it to furnish details of development projects it brought, if any, in Punjab during its tenure in the state.