Ahead of the appearance before a Special Investigation Team (SIT), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief and former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said he was not afraid of jail.

He has been summoned to appear before the SIT probing the Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura sacrilege-related firing cases on Monday.

“I don’t care and I don’t fear jail. The SAD has a long history of struggles and incarceration. My father and former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal spent his prime years in jail. If they wish to arrest me, they are welcome. Earlier, they had planned to put me in jail. Even then, I visited the office of DGP, Punjab Police, and offered my arrest,” said Sukhbir, reacting to CM Bhagwant Singh Mann’s statement that “Badal will languish in jail”.

Dismissing the sacrilege allegations as a poll gimmick, he said both the Congress and AAP raised the issue for “cheap electoral gains” during elections. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of the SAD during his visit at Jalandhar was actually aimed at the breakaway faction.