Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday condemned Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for placing the State virtually under the central rule by putting his stamp of approval on the Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s decision to open offices of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in all States of the country.
“It is shocking that Bhagwant Mann, who was the only Chief Minister of the opposition attending the Chintan Shivir in Faridabad, agreed to the proposal which would allow the NIA to have overriding powers over the State police in Punjab,” said senior SAD leaders Prem Singh Chandumajra, Maheshinder Singh Grewal, and Daljit Singh Cheema.
Asserting that Mann was colluding with the BJP to destroy the country’s federal structure, senior Akali leaders said that Punjabis had not given the Chief Minister the mandate to sell off the rights of the State which were guaranteed by the Constitution.
Stating that SAD would not allow Mann to barter away Punjab’s rights, Chandumajra demanded that the Chief Minister should take back his approval to allow opening of NIA offices in Punjab. Simultaneously, the Centre should also increase the rights of States instead of decreasing them.