Case filed against Navjot Singh Sidhu for remarks on Punjab police
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Chandigarh: A defamation case has been filed against Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for asserting that Congress leaders had the means to make Punjab police "wet their pants" during two separate rallies in Sultanpur Lodhi and Batala. The case was filed by Chandigarh Deputy Superintendent of Police Dilsher Singh Chandel, who said the remarks were insulting to the Punjab police force as a whole.
Sidhu's remarks went viral on social media, promoting backlash from senior Punjab political leaders like former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Daljeet Singh Cheema. Cheema questioned the silence over Sidhu's insulting remarks from Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
The Congress leader has dismissed allegations that he insulted police officers and defended his comments to show the Congress had authority in the region.
The controversy erupted after Sidhu, at a recent rally in Sultanpur Lodhi while pointing towards sitting MLA Navtej Singh Cheema, said he can "make a 'thanedar' (policeman) wet his pants". He repeated the remark at a rally in Batala on Sunday while praising local leader Ashwani Sekhri, who was standing by his side.
Senior police officials have also condemned the comments, with Chandigarh DSP Chandel opining that such remarks from a senior political leader were "shameful" and intended to 'humiliate' the police force.
"Without (security) force, even a rickshaw puller will not listen to him," he said in a video statement. "I strongly condemn this remark and he (Sidhu) should not use such words for his force. The force has its own dignity and respect and it is our responsibility to maintain this dignity."
Ludhiana MP Bittu lauded the Punjab police for its role in eliminating terrorism from the state. Bittu, whose grandfather and the then chief minister Beant Singh died in a bomb blast in 1995, said: "Some videos of a DSP and sub-inspector have gone viral. First of all, whatever has been said about the police, I seek an apology," he said.
"I know it is Punjab police personnel, from senior IPS officer to the constable level, which did not care for their own lives and curbed terrorism with iron hand...How will they protect people if we use wrong words against them. It was very important that we stand by them," his post on Facebook reads.