Punjab Advocate General APS Deol on Saturday slammed Congress leader Navjot Sidhu - who has demanded that he resign for representing two accused cops in the 2015 blasphemy and police firing case.
Deol hit back at the cricketer-turned politician for "repeated utterances (that) seek to derail the earnest efforts of the state to ensure justice in the 'drugs matter' and the 'sacrilege cases'".
He also accused Sidhu of "spreading misinformation to gain a political advantage over his political colleagues". "There is a concerted attempt by vested interests to malign the functioning of the Congress party in view of the coming elections in Punjab for their selfish political gain, by politicizing the constitutional office of the Advocate General of Punjab," Deol wrote in a brief statement issued Saturday morning.
APS Deol, a veteran advocate of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, was appointed to the post in September after the resignation of Atul Nanda, who stepped down after the resignation of Amarinder Singh as the Chief Minister of Punjab.
Sidhu, on Friday announced that he would only withdraw his resignation as the PPCC Chief, if CM Charanjit Channi accepts APS Deol's resignation. The former cricketer had quit in September, leaving the Congress in splits after it backed him in his power struggle against Amarinder Singh.
"I have taken back my resignation...When a new Advocate General is appointed, I will take caharge,' he announced.
Channi, however on Tuesday, refused to accept Deol's resignation, according to the sources, in a move to show Sidhu his place in the power hierarchy.
Sidhu had stepped down as Punjab Congress chief over the appointments of Deol and Sahota, aggravating the party's leadership crisis in a state that heads into elections next year.
With Agencies Input
