Capt. Amarinder Singh trashes allegations levelled by opposition parties on vaccines, COVID kits

Punjab Chief Minister Capt. Amarinder Singh on Tuesday rejected the opposition’s allegations on supply of vaccines to some private hospitals and procurement of ‘Fateh Kits’ as “politically motivated”, asserting that there was no question of the state government making profits amid the pandemic which it was battling hard to save lives.

Lashing out at the SAD and AAP for spreading misinformation to further their political ambitions and weakening the state’s war against COVID by raising non-issues, the Chief Minister charged the two parties with making a motivated hue and cry to push their electoral agendas with an eye on the 2022 Assembly elections.

Asserting that the state government had not indulged in any wrongdoing, the Punjab Chief Minister said quick and unusual decisions have to be taken in an emergency war-like situation. All protocols were strictly followed and emergency rules were invoked to meet the crisis, he added.

All decisions were taken in the interest of the people of the state, and all due procedures were followed, he said, terming media reports on the alleged ‘scams’ as nothing but sensationalism.

Capt Amarinder Singh said he was with his officials 100 per cent on these issues, adding that all the right steps were taken and no amount of opposition hullabaloo can undermine the true intent of his government, which was focused on protecting the lives of the people.

The state’s doctors and bureaucrats had been doing an excellent job in fighting the war with their backs against the wall, he said, declaring that Punjab would beat the virus.

The Chief Minister took serious note of the large-scale gatherings being organised by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) against the state government in brazen violation of the COVID safety protocols and the curbs in place.

In their desperation for power, Sukhbir Singh Badal and his party colleagues were endangering the lives of the people through such gatherings, he added.

"Sukhbir & Co. saw scams everywhere because their own government had been seeped in all kinds of scams, and had pocketed crores of rupees at the cost of the people’s hard-earned money," said Amarinder Singh, dismissing all allegations as nonsensical and baseless.

Earlier in the day, the police dispersed leaders and workers of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on their way to gherao Capt. Amarinder Singh at his residence at Siswan in Mohali, using water cannons.

Led by SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, the mob was shouting slogans against the Congress-led government over various issues, including alleged irregularities in the purchase of ‘Fateh kits’ and alleged diversion of COVID vaccine doses to private hospitals.

Several Akali leaders, including Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia, were detained by police.

BSP’s state president Jasbir Singh Garhi was also present at the protest.

Police personnel were deployed in strength and multi-layered barricades were put up on the road leading to the Chief Minister's residence ahead of the march.

According to the PTI, initially, scores of Akali and BSP protesters forced their way through the first layer of barricades. The police used water cannons when the protesters tried to cross the second layer of barricades.

Mohali Senior Superintendent of Police Satinder Singh was present at the spot.