BJP-Akali Dali under siege over Moga assault: Congress, AAP bay for Badal blood

Chandigarh: The Moga incident in Punjab, in which a teenage girl was molested and thrown off a moving bus, has provided the opposition political parties the perfect ammunition they needed to take on the ruling Akali Dal-BJP combine in the build-up to the assembly election in 2017. The Akali Dal, which is already shrinking in public perception due to its poor handling of the agrarian crisis in the state, now appears to be politically isolated.

Sensing an opportunity to corner the government, the opposition parties have launched an all out attack on the Badal family, owner of the Orbit Aviation in whose bus the shameful incident took place. According to reports in the media, the family of the deceased girl has finally relented and decided to cremate the body five days after the incident, but political rivals are not prepared to let the Badals off the hook.

The Congress and the Aam Admi Party are holding separate demonstrations at Baghapurana near Moga. Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa and Jagmeet Brar, former MP are staging a dharna in front of the police station while AAP MP, Bhagwant Mann along with 500 party supporters is holding a protest in front of the Baghapurana DSP’s office. The political leaders are not just demanding strict action against the culprits, but also against the owners of Orbit Aviation.

Speaking to Firstpost, Kuljit Nagra, Congress MLA from Fatehgarh Sahib said the Moga bus incident had brought shame to the state and those responsible for it should be punished at the earliest.

“The state government is trying to wriggle out of situation and escape its responsibilities, but we will continue to protest till we ensure justice in this case. In all such cases it is the owners’ responsibility and everyone knows who the owner of the Orbit buses are,’’he said.

Bhagwant Mann of the AAP said in a similar incident, officials of the Uber Taxi service were questioned and therefore owners of the Orbit Aviation too must be made answerable.

The damage control measures adopted by the Badals – suspension of services of Orbit buses in the state, arrest of the culprits, announcing training for the staff, compensation to the victim’s family etc - have not paid off. The victim’s family has left no one in doubt that it is firm in its demand of holding Orbit bus owners (Badals) criminally liable. The crisis seems destined to result in more damage to the political fortunes of the Badals rather than any business losses it is suffering at present.

The Punjab government can claim that it has taken prompt action. According to Sumedh Singh Saini, Director General of Police, the conductor, cleaner and driver of the bus in question had been arrested and a case of murder under Section 302 and other relevant sections including 307, 354 had been registered. The bus had also been impounded.

But the police have refused to book the owner of Orbit Aviation. They maintain that they cannot proceed against a person who was not aware that an offence was being committed. Says Congress leader Harminder Singh Gill, “If the owner of the bus in the Delhi rape case can be booked for offences committed by their employees, why not the same in this case?”

Partap Singh Bajwa has even sought resignation of the Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal for not meeting the family of the victim. “We condemn the incident. The Youth Congress is going to gherao the Orbit Aviation office in Bathinda and Mohali.

While the incident continues to snowball, the Punjab State Scheduled Caste Commission chairman, Rajesh Bagha, has strongly condemned the statement of Surjit Singh Rakhra, Punjab Higher Education Minister, who said that the entire incident was “God’s will”. The Commission has fixed a meeting with the Punjab DGP on May 5 to discuss the entire episode.

“We strongly condemn the incident. Just because a Dalit family is involved there is lack of sensitivity on the part of police and the politicians to take strong action against everybody involved. Everyone is equal in the eyes of law. There cannot be any exceptions,” Karamvir Singh, president of Confederation of SC/ST./BC Organisations, told Firstpost.