"All Government decisions are taken by Sukhbir Badal and his father merely puts his stamp wherever required"

•Sukhdeep Kaur: You seem to be fighting on multiple fronts — against the Akalis and with state Congress chief Rajinder Kaur Bhattal. Comment.

Amarinder Singh: I am a soldier and I know that the morale of my men would hit a nadir if I start to consort with the enemy. How would they feel if I cross the border every evening to have coffee with the Chinese and then in the morning ask them to fight? The same situation prevails in the Congress. The Akalis are persecuting our men, as many as 6,000 cases have been registered against our supporters and workers. Some of them have been mercilessly thrashed at police stations. I have photographic evidence to prove this. Under the circumstances, how can you have bonhomie dinners and fancy Cricket matches that Bhattal is having with the Akalis. Just two days before the panchayat elections, Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee visited Punjab and you have photographs of Bhattal and Badal sitting in a car, grinning from ear to ear. This sends a wrong message and is bad leadership.

•Manraj Grewal: The present Punjab Chief Minister blames the Congress for most problems that have afflicted Punjab, including terrorism. Comment.

Amarinder Singh: That has always been Badal’s pet peeve. But I think it is complete abrogation of responsibility. The likes of Badal and Tohra did not realise their responsibility and allowed themselves to be upstaged by men like Bhindranwale. I was a part of negotiations and I can tell you that when the talks broke down in 1982, the issue was merely the renaming of Frontier Express as Darbar Sahib Express. If we had done that in 1982, the situation wouldn’t have been exacerbated. But things worsened so fast that by 1984, the issue was not only about renaming of a train. A lot of other things had come in and acquired magnified proportions.

•Varinder Bhatia: Do you think the rift between the Government and Dera Sacha Sauda could send Punjab back to the dark days of terrorism?

Amarinder Singh: Everyone in Punjab wants peace. Something must be worked out between the two parties to diffuse the tension. Let us remember one thing: the trouble in the 1980’s started with the Nirankari issue. Those were horrible days when fear loomed large. No one wants a return to those days. I know there are some mad hatters but the vast majority wants peace.

... contd.