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Akalis seek details of Amarinder's "secret" visit to Rajasthan

Staff Correspondent

Antecedents sought of Pakistani nationals who accompanied the Chief Minister

CHANDIGARH: The Shiromani Akali Dal has sought the antecedents of the Pakistani nationals, including a controversial woman, who accompanied the Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, during his recent "secret" visit to Rajasthan.

Senior vice-president of the party Gurdev Singh Badal, general secretary Balwinder Singh Bhunder and former Minister Jathedar Tota Singh, in statements, alleged that the Chief Minister illegally used his official helicopter to travel to Rajasthan with foreign nationals who did not have valid travel documents. They demanded that the passenger manifest of the official helicopter be placed before the public.

They also demanded that the motives behind the trip be made public immediately "in the interest of morality and national security."

"Capt. Amarinder Singh must also disclose his compulsions in carrying private foreign nationals in his official chopper, and that too when they did not even have a valid visa to go beyond Amritsar. This not only amounts to brazen misuse of official machinery, but to allowing foreigners a direct access to vantage sites near airports and other defence installations," the Akali leaders said.

Referring to the Chief Minister's Amarinder Singh's claim in a section of the press that the Pakistani nationals had valid visas for Ajmer, the Akali leaders dared him to make the details public. Reacting to the Chief Minister's rejoinder that the helicopter was forced to land at Jaipur due to dense fog, the Akalis sought to know whether the local police or the Union Home Ministry were informed about the incident.

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