LUDHIANA: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal om Sunday dubbed the Punjab Chief Minster Bhagwant Mann and the Panchayat Raj Minister Laljit Singh Bullar as “partners in crime” in their botched up assault on grass-root democracy through dissolution of and election to Panchayats in the state.
"The Chief Minister is now acting like a coward and by trying to hide by officers as scapegoats. The fact is that the entire process of dissolution of Panchayats to be followed by election was initiated, piloted and signed by Bhagwant Mann through the concerned minister Laljit Singh Bhullar. The IAS officers had merely presented the concerned file for "perusal" and necessary orders by the Chief Minister. The officers had specifically noted on the file itself that it was being sent “as desired by the Chief Minister," said the SAD president
