The Punjab Congress on Tuesday demanded imposition of the President’s Rule in the State “without any further delay” in the wake of deteriorating law and order situation.
Congress legislature Party (ClP) leader Sunil Jakhar, along with party MlAs, met the Punjab Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki and submitted a memorandum in this regard.
Jakhar said that as the fast deteriorating conditions are spiralling out of control, “any delay could have very grave consequences”.
He pointed out that if timely action had been taken in apprehending the culprits responsible for desecrating the holy Guru Granth Sahib in village Bagrari, such unrest as Punjab is facing today, would not have taken place.
“The conditions are getting from bad to worse with each passing day. Punjab Government seems to have been paralysed and is incapable to bring the situation under control,” he said adding that with the kind of volatile situation prevailing in Punjab, any small incident could snowball in to a major catastrophe.
A tragedy is waiting to happen on the streets of Punjab, he warned the Governor. “Now the onus is on the Central Government to take timely action. Rather than wait for it, the Central Government can prevent any such untoward incident by imposing President’s rule,” he said.
Jakhar said that with the SAD-BJP Government having abdicated its responsibility, Centre should take charge. “Punjab cannot be left rudderless at such a critical juncture,” he said. The memorandum read that Punjab is being pushed into black days of death and destruction. The tragic events of last two months have shaken the conscience of Punjabi’s and their faith in the institutions of governance, it added.
It added that people have lost faith in the Government and “suspect a sinister design to distract attention from the farmer’s agitation” who were protesting because of the destruction of cotton crop in the entire Malwa belt due to supply of spurious seeds and involvement of government officials and ministers in pesticide scam and losses suffered by basmati farmers across Punjab. The memorandum stated that there was a “complete breakdown” of the constitutional machinery as anarchy prevails on the streets.