हिंदी
(Parambans S Romana also asks the duo to explain on whose order the Malerkotla DC had written to the DA recommending withdrawal of the complaint against sacrilege accused Naresh Yadav)
Chandigarh, July 23, 2025
Senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Parambans Singh Romana today asked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convener Arvind Kejriwal and chief minister Bhagwant Mann to tell Punjabis why its legislator – Mohammad Jameel ur Rehman, who had supported the main accused in the Koran Shareef sacrilege case, had been made a member of the Select Committee of the anti-sacrilege Bill.
Addressing the media here, Mr Parambans Romana said Mohammad Jameel had actively supported AAP legislator Naresh Yadav when the latter was tried in the Malerkotla sacrilege case. “Mohammad Jameel was part of the close knit circle which attended all the hearings and tried its best to get Yadav off the hook. He was later also rewarded for these efforts with the party ticket from Malerkotla”.
Stating that the intentions of the AAP government were clear from this fact and that the Select Committee had been formed only to do politics on this issue, Mr Romana also revealed the letter written by the Sangrur deputy commissioner on November 15, 2024 to the district attorney. He said the letter explained that the complainant Mohammad Ashraf did not want to pursue the complaint, that the SSP had also requested for withdrawal of the case and that the Director, Prosecution and Litigation had also conveyed that his office did not have any objection to the withdrawal of the case.
Mr Romana said it was incumbent on both Kejriwal and the chief minister to explain on whose order the deputy commissioner had taken out the letter to help the main accused in a sacrilege case one month before he was convicted in the same. “The government should also explain why no action was taken against the officials who had tried their level best to shield the sacrilege perpetrator, especially in the light of the conviction of Yadav”.
Stating that this was not the first time the AAP government had shielded culprits, Mr Romana said in 2021 the government had refused to give sanction to prosecute Ram Raheem under section 295 (A) even though sanction was given to prosecute other culprits in the same case.
The SAD leader also took senior Congress leader Pargat Singh to task for shirking his responsibility on the sacrilege issue. He said Pargat Singh had put the blame for not acting in the sacrilege cases on former chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and had tried to free himself of all responsibility by asserting there was less time left to take action in the case once Capt Amarinder was removed. Asking Pargat to explain how four DGPs and four BOI chiefs and three AGs could be changed and a false case could be imposed on senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia, if the government did not have any time to pursue the sacrilege cases.
