SAD, AAP Attack Congress Over Appointment Of Kamal Nath As Punjab Head

Chandigarh: Appointment of senior Congress leader Kamal Nath as in-charge of the party's Punjab affairs has attracted sharp reactions from both Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today termed the appointment as "the ultimate insult to Sikhs".

"This comes on the eve of Rahul Gandhi's visit to Punjab. It is an unbelievably brazen act of insensitivity towards Sikhs," Mr Badal said.

"I just cannot believe a political party can be so brutally insensitive to the sentiments of the Sikh community," he added.

Reacting sharply over the appointment of Kamal Nath as in-charge of the Congress in Punjab, the AAP today termed him as an "accused" of the massacre of Sikhs in 1984 and said that it is an attempt to rub salt on the wounds of the victims.

AAP's Punjab convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur said that the victims of the 1984 riots are still awaiting justice, but the Congress has appointed an accused in the case as in-charge of the party in Punjab.

Sikhs would give a befitting reply to the Congress in the forthcoming Assembly polls, Mr Chhotepur said.

However, the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee is yet to come up with any reaction on the new appointment. Party leaders were busy with preparations for Rahul Gandhi's visit to Jalandhar on Monday to lead a protest against drug menace in the state.

With Assembly elections round the corner, the appointment of Kamal Nath, who faces allegations of leading mobs during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi, has given fresh ammunition to rival political parties to corner the Congress, which is hoping to make a comeback in the state after a decade.