Two days after Punjab’s Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) vice-president Brig Jagdish Gagneja (retd) was shot at, the SAD-BJP links took another hit with the RSS on Monday training its guns at the Punjab Government for deteriorating law and order situation in the State.
launching a scathing attack, the RSS leadership dubbed the incident as an attack on RSS institution and made it clear to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal that such incidents would “not be tolerated”.
RSS leader Brig Gagneja, who received three bullets after being targeted by unidentified bike-borne assailants on Saturday evening, continued to be critical on Monday.
“The RSS leader is on ventilator. He was examined by a team of senior doctors of Chandigarh’s Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) and ludhiana’s Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) on Monday morning,” said Hero DMC Heart Institute director GS Wander.
The police investigation, meanwhile, hit a dead-end as the registration number of the motorcycle used in the crime turned out to be “fake”. It compelled the Punjab police to not only announce Rs 10 lakh reward to the informer, but also promised government job a constable’s job in the state police force.
Demanding immediate arrest of the culprits, RSS workers presented memorandums to Deputy Commissioners in all districts of the state. The memorandum, addressed to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, also demanded that the government deal firmly with the “forces trying to destabilise the country”.
Taking a tough stand against its own allies just about four months before the 2017 State Assembly election, the high-level delegations of the BJP and the RSS held back-to-back meeting with the Badals and expressed concern over “deteriorating” law and order in the State in the wake of the attack on Sangh leader.
Badal assured the delegations that the peace and communal harmony would remain the top priority of the Government. He reiterated his Government’s resolve to continue policy of “zero tolerance” against attempt to disturb peace and communal harmony in Punjab.
The BJP delegation led by State party chief and Union Minister Vijay Sampla sought speedy arrest of the accused. “We expressed concern over the law and order in the State during our meeting. We said that appropriate steps need to be taken to prevent such incidents in future,” said Sampla.
Sampla was accompanied by party’s national vice-president and state organizational in-charge Prabhat Jha, national vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna, state cabinet minister Madan Mohan Mittal, former state presidents Prof Brij lal Rinwa, Ashwini Sharma, Manoranjan Kalia, Kamal Sharma and party’s state general secretary organization Dinesh Kumar.
Badal asked the state police chief Suresh Arora, who was also present in the meeting, to ensure the highest degree of vigil against elements with nefarious designs to divide the society on sectarian or communal lines in the wake of coming Assembly elections.
“There was never a time that any RSS leader was attacked in the state and it has now happened. Therefore, we fear such incidents can reoccur in future. We need to be alert and steps need to be taken to contain anti-social elements,” said Sampla, after the meeting.
“The police has established some links between attack on Gagneja and previous incidents. We have faith in the police investigation,” said Jha while refusing to interpret the attack as a political conspiracy or by Pakistan.
Sampla, when asked regarding RSS leader’s refusal to police security, said that he has advised the state leaders to take security but the decision was theirs. “RSS are battle hardened activists. We will continue our work in Punjab,” added Jha.
Party MlA Manoranjan Kalia informed that the BJP and the RSS had detailed discussions with the Chief Minister. “The police has got certain leads in the case,” he added.
led by its north zone head Rameshwar Pracharak, RSS delegation comprising of its senior leaders also demanded speedy investigation into the incident, and conveyed displeasure and “anger” over “deteriorating” law and order situation in the state, especially attacks on the RSS leaders and units.
Whether it was the attack on Shakha in ludhiana or the day-light murder of Mata Chand Kaur or incidents of kidnapping and snatching, the common man is feeling insecure, it said. “We cannot let go waste the sacrifices made by Swayamsewaks for peace and communal harmony in Punjab. Ensure rule of law,” the delegation said.
Calling a spade a spade, RSS leader stated that the attack was not on Brig Gagneja but on the institution of RSS which will not be tolerated.
A four-member Special Investigation Team, headed by ADGP-cum-Director, Bureau of Investigation, IPS Sahota has been set up to investigate the attack. Deputy Chief Minister, who also heads the Home Department, said that he is personally monitoring the law and order situation on a day-to-day basis.
“There will be no compromise on the issue of peace and communal harmony in Punjab. These are sacred ideals for us. Those who try to disrupt peace must prepare to pay an unbearable penalty for their actions,” he said.
“The government cannot rule out the tendency in some quarters to be cynical in the use of unscrupulous means for cheap and petty political gains,” the Chief Minister said.
He said that the state has to guard against such attempts by “over-ambitious and frustrated elements” to drive a wedge between brotherly communities and inflame passions for communalising the situation.
“Police and other wings of administration must be ready to respond to such challenges most sternly and expeditiously, with zero loss of time,” he said while appealing to the people to “beware the vicious and divisive propaganda”.
“The wheels of progress in the state are moving at an unprecedented speed. That is why the government’s opponents are trying desperately to shift the agenda from development to other issues like violence and unrest,” said Badal.
The Chief Minister said that some cynical elements have been active in the state for some time. “These people have been found to be capable of denigrating sacred religious symbols and committing other outrageous acts to disturb peace in the state so that the agenda of progress and development is pushed on the back-burner. These tendencies and the dangers to the peace that they pose must be thwarted,” he said.
In the meantime, the Jalandhar police released images of two suspected bike borne assailants who attacked the RSS leader. Police has also announced that the informer will be given Rs 10 lakh cash and a job as constable in the Punjab police.
Apart from the cash reward, a job in the Punjab Police would also be given to the person, who would provide information regarding attackers announced Jalandhar Police Commissioner Arpit Shukla.
“Police has release the CCTV footage of the ‘attackers’ in which the duo were riding on a motorbike with their faces covered by clothe,” he said.
Meanwhile, the number plate of the motorbike, which attackers used to commit the crime, found to be ‘fake’.
To prevent any tension after the attack on RSS leader, two companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were also deployed in Jalandhar.