Chandigarh, Sep 21 (PTI): Alleging that Punjab is seeing worse days under AAP rule, with gangsterism and the drug problem increasing, Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi claimed on Monday that chief minister Bhagwant Mann can run a stage, not the state.
The Congress leader said the AAP government’s Yudh Nashean Virudh (war against drugs campaign) in Punjab is limited to newspapers, TV and social media. “On the ground, the opposite is happening. Drug traffickers are enjoying political patronage from leaders of the ruling AAP. It has become AAP’s policy to align with gangsters and drug traffickers to win the next polls, which is fatal for Punjab. Gurpreet Sekhon is the biggest example,” he alleged.
Sekhon joined the AAP along with his supporters in the presence of Mann at a rally in Zira in Ferozepur on September 6. He was one of the main accused in the sensational 2016 Nabha jailbreak case in which armed criminals launched an attack on the high-security prison and freed six prisoners including Sekhon.
“We demand that the chief minister should accept moral responsibility and resign,” Channi, the Jalandhar MP, told reporters in Morinda. Taking a dig at the artist-turned-politician, the former Chief Minister of Punjab said, “There is a difference between running the state and a stage. This man can run the stage, not the state. For the last four-and-a-half years, he has been running a stage; he cannot run the state.”
He said the drug menace in Punjab is concerning and gangsterism has increased.
“Stopping the drug menace requires willpower, the capacity to fight the mafia and administrative skills, but Mann lacks all three,” he claimed.
On the BJP’s ongoing anti-drug Yatra in Punjab, he wondered why the party, which is in power at the Centre, was not equally responsible for controlling the drug problem. He said they should explain how drugs are entering Punjab.
Channi criticised the AAP government regarding the death of Gulzar Singh. Gulzar’s family alleged that on September 7, he allegedly consumed poison after being harassed and subjected to casteist slurs for questioning finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema about drug supply in his area at an event in Dirba the day before.
The Congress leader also mentioned the case of Mohanjit Singh of Sheron village in Sangrur. Mohanjit alleged that police in the Sunam division tortured him after they detained him for waving a black flag from the rooftop of a house near the venue of Mann’s ‘Lok Milni’ programme on September 2.
Channi said, “They think they can rule Punjab by suppressing people. But not even the Mughals and the British could do so, nor can anyone else.”
Channi also highlighted the incident involving Jagga Singh. He said a resident of Namol village in Sangrur, Jagga, attempted suicide outside the district administrative complex in Sangrur district, and claimed that a local sarpanch threatened him after he shared a video of drug supply in his Namol village.
In Gurdaspur district, in Dera Baba Nanak, gangsters gunned down a sarpanch’s brother and claimed responsibility on social media, Channi said. The prevailing atmosphere in Punjab is taking a dangerous turn, he said.
Punjab is again being pushed into the fire from which it had earlier emerged, Channi said, referring to the militancy days.
Replying to another question on police booking former SGPC member Amarjit Singh Chawla on the charge of rape in Anandpur Sahib, following a complaint lodged by a woman, Channi asked, “Why was the FIR hidden from the public for 25 days? What is the intent of the government?”
“The police and the AAP government gave the accused safe passage in the case,” he alleged.
“For many days, that woman kept going to police, but she was not heard,” he alleged.
Chief minister Mann, who is also home minister, should issue a statement regarding the case, Channi demanded.
Recently, Chawla, in a video message on social media, had denied the rape allegations against him, terming them false and baseless.
