In a shocking case of making a highly irresponsible comment, AAP MLA from Punjab H S Phoolka has stated that Army could have orchestrated the terror attack that took place in Amritsar today.
Three people had lost their lives and at least 10 people were injured in a grenade attack at a prayer hall in Adliwal village near Amritsar’s Rajasansi area on 18th November. A religious congregation of the Nirankari sect of Sikhism was being conducted inside the Bhavan at the time of the incident. According to Punjab police, the attack on Nirankari Bhavan at the outskirts of Amritsar city appears to be a “terrorist act”.
Although there was no specific intelligence input about any probable attack on the prayer hall, there was a high alert that six to seven Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) terrorists had entered the state and were “planning to move towards Delhi”.
While most politicians were condemning the terror attack, AAP MLA in Punjab Harvinder Singh Phoolka decided to take a different take, and hinted that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Bipin Rawat is behind the attack. He said, “Army Chief came and made a statement. To prove his statement, he could have orchestrated the attack. This matter should be looked into. Did govt do it? Did the earlier govt do it now? It is wrong to repeatedly say that Punjab’s atmosphere is not good. We must get to the root of it. Govt must get to the root of it. Those who made false statements about Maur blast, what action has been taken against them? What action has been taken against him? Punjab is a sensitive state. One must not make statements without facts. One must not make accusations. Get to the root of it – who did it? Why and how was it done? It’s very important.”
On November 3 this year, Rawat had said that attempts are being made through “external linkages” to “revive insurgency” in Punjab. He had said if early action is not taken, it will be too late. “Internal security is one of the biggest problems in the country, but the question is ‘why we have not been able to find a solution, because it has external linkages’,” Gen Rawat had said. He had also added same efforts were made in Assam to revive insurgency through “external linkages” and “external abetment”.
Now Phoolka is saying, who is also a senior Supreme Court lawyer, that to prove his warnings right, General Rawat orchestrated the attack in Punjab. This has to be one of the most irresponsible statements to be made by a politician.
Police have concluded it is a terror attack because the attack was against a particular group of people and not against any individual. “It appears to have a terror angle. Because it is against a group and it is not against any individual. There is no reason to throw a hand grenade on a group of people, so we will take it as a terrorist act. Till proven otherwise, prima facie we will take it as that,” Punjab Director General of Police Suresh Arora said.
But Phoolka is questing this version of police also. According to his bizarre definition of terrorism, throwing grenades on a peaceful congregation by itself is not a Terror act, it will depend on who has thrown it. He posted the following tweet on Twitter today making the claim:
#AmritsarBlast
Police stated-Enquiring if its a Terror act. Shocking.Throwing grenades on a peaceful congregation by itself is not a Terror act, it will depend who has thrown it. If followers of Ram Rahim has done, then its not a Terror act, but if Kashmiri has done then Terror.— H S Phoolka (@hsphoolka) November 18, 2018
There have been several allegations about AAP having links with Khalistani separatists. Even actress Gul Panag, who had contested 2014 Lok Sabha elections on a AAP ticket, had said that she had warned the party against the ‘flirtation’ of party with Khalistanis, thereby confirming the links. When the party itself is facing serious allegations of terror links, to blame a terror attack on the chief of the army is very shameful.
