Calling for a tough stance by the Central Government against Pakistan-backed terrorism, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday said that his Government was committed to ensuring strict action against those responsible for Bargari and other sacrilege cases.
“If the Akalis think we are sitting quiet on the sensitive sacrilege and other serious issues, they are sadly mistaken,” said the Chief Minister, adding, however, that he did not believe in engaging in ‘tu tu main main’ kind of war of words with them but wanted to remain focused on critical issues of state’s interest.
Capt Amarinder, speaking at a conclave on the completion of Congress Government’s three years in office, said that his focus had been on tackling drugs, gangsterism and political killings – all of which were rampant under the SAD-BJP rule, and this had been done effectively.
Asserting that the State Government will not allow Pak-backed terrorists to foment trouble in Punjab, the Chief Minister said that he had been urging the Central Government to be tough on Pakistan. “This cannot go on,” he declared, adding that Punjab is not Kashmir, and was well equipped to fight back.
The Army could continue fighting terror in Kashmir, but in Punjab, in addition to the BSF as the first line of defence at the borders, the 85,000 strong police force was well equipped to deal with any threat, he said, adding that the Army was also there for support as and when needed.
Taking a tough stance against Pak-sponsored terror, Capt Amarinder said that things like Pulwama attack and chopping of heads of the soldiers at the borders was not acceptable.
0“We have to be tough with Pakistan, they do not understand any other language,” he said, adding that he did not really understand the policy of the neighbouring country, which was fighting everyone on all fronts.
Citing the recent seizures of China-made drones, smuggling weapons and drugs from across the border into Punjab, Capt Amarinder said that large quantities of both had been recovered through the collective efforts of Punjab Police and the Special Task Force (STF).
Pointing out that with drugs being pushed into Punjab from Uri, Chamba, the Gujarat port, Nepal and Burma, via Delhi, the State had become a hub for narco terrorists, he said that the fight to eliminate the drugs completely was continuing on war footing.
Terming the gangster culture a result of popularisation of gangsterism through movies and television, the Chief Minister said that his instructions to the police force were clear – ask them to surrender and if they refuse to, then fight them and let them suffer the consequences.
He made it clear that the State Government had a “no mercy” policy against gangsters, who had a free reign during the Akali rule and were going around shooting anyone, including the police. But the police have now got the better of these gangsters, with nearly 2,500 in custody and 11 neutralised, he said.
‘EVEN I DON’T HAVE BIRTH CERTIFICATE, HALF OF PUNJAB CAN’T PRODUCE THEM’
Strongly opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC), and National Population Register (NPR) as absurd and unconstitutional, Capt Amarinder said that half of Punjab, including himself, could not produce birth certificates to prove their Indianness.
Pointing out that most people in Punjab came from Pakistan, Capt Amarinder asked if the Centre expected them to go to Pakistan to look for proof of birth. “Even I don’t have a birth certificate. These things did not exist when I was born,” said the Chief Minister, quipping that this would make him too a ‘doubtful character’ under the Government of India’s new census system.
Making it clear that his government was totally opposed to these exercises, Capt Amarinder said that while a routine census would be conducted in Punjab, it would not be based on religion, caste and creed.
Questioning what the BJP-led Central Government was trying to prove with these laws and documents, Capt Amarinder took strong exception to even former Army officials being declared non-Indians after fighting for the nation.
For 72 years, India has been a diverse country, with different religions, castes and creeds living together, as one, in the true spirit of the Constitution and its Preamble, the Chief Minister pointed out, adding that suddenly, “they want to break and fragment this nation, which is totally unacceptable”.