The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) led Punjab Government’s decision to accord Punjab Police’s Z-plus security cover to its national convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal raised a dust of controversy with the Opposition parties dubbing it a ‘fraud’ with the people of Punjab.
Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, sharing a list of protected people of the State submitted by the State Government in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, questioned the Z-plus security given to AAP supremo Kejriwal despite the fact that he already has the same category security cover provided by the Central Government.
“Why does Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, who is already Z-plus protected from the Central government, needs Z+ security from Punjab also? This has been done fraudulently which is evident from the fact that he has been shown as an AAP Punjab convener, while he is actually a national convener. Shame on such pettiness,” Warring tweeted.
Echoing the same views, another Congress leader and Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira pointed out that the AAP Government has passed off Delhi Chief Minister as the party’s Punjab convener in order to provide Z-plus security of the Punjab Police.
Making public the list of categorised protected people of the state in connection with a written petition filed by former Deputy Chief Minister OP Soni, Khaira said that Kejriwal’s political position was “twisted” to extend to him the Punjab Police security cover, financed through state funds.
Khaira alleged that the police commandos were stationed at Kapurthala House, the official residence of the Punjab Chief Minister in New Delhi.
Also the All India Kissan Congress president, Khaira alleged that Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha had also been provided Z-plus security whereas other MPs had normal security. “Bhagwant Mann must explain this fraud,” he tweeted.
Bhagwant Mann is the AAP Punjab convener, while Kejriwal is its national convener, he pointed out. He also criticized providing Z plus security to Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, saying it was a “clear abuse of power by the AAP government in Punjab to massage the ego of their Delhi masters”.
“Why of all the seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs does he need it?...The person who does not feel any threat to his life while modelling and ramp walk in Delhi feels so threatened in Punjab that he is provided Z-plus security,” he remarked, while asking what is the basis of his threat perception.
Instead, the Congress leader added that the actual person, Sidhu Moosewala, who faced serious threat perception was denied security that cost his life despite repeated threats to his life.
Demanding immediate withdrawal of Z plus security to Kejriwal and Chadha in Punjab, Khaira asked the Chief Minister Mann to “raise your head high and straighten your spine and not succumb to the pressure for Delhi”.
Claiming that Kejriwal availed of the Punjab Government security by showing himself as AAP’s Punjab convener, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa also took a dig at the AAP leader tweeting, “Aam Aadmi Party people used to talk about ending the VIP culture, but Kejriwal himself has taken protection from both the Delhi Police and the Punjab government.”
CIRCULATING LIST OF SECURITY CATEGORIZED PROTECTEES “NOT AN OFFICIAL DOCUMENT”: PUNJAB POLICE
Even as the opposition leaders are targeting the Punjab Government over a list of security categorized protectees “being circulated in the media”, the Punjab Police on Wednesday made it clear that the list “are not official documents”. At the same time, the Punjab police has also cautioned against attributing the document to it.
Sharing the details, Punjab police spokesperson said that the circulating document is, in fact, a part of Annexure-5 of the Writ Petition No 11872 of 2022 filed by OP Soni in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. These attached documents are in no way the official documents of Punjab Police, said the spokesperson.
Elaborating further, the spokesperson said that a perusal of the alleged list clearly showed that it is a typed document and there are no signatures, initials, official stamps or official authentication present anywhere in the document. It appears that this list has been typed by the petitioner and attached to the Writ Petition, he said.
Spokesperson added that any person could obtain copies of the Writ Petition from the website of the Punjab and Haryana High Court to verify the facts. The matter is sub-judice in the High Court and the next date of hearing is July 29, 2022, he added.
Condemning the mischievous efforts to sensationalise the issue, the spokesperson cautioned against misleading the common man by attributing a private document to the Punjab Police.