In what could be seen as a growing rift between the Congress led Punjab Government and Governor VP SIngh Badanore, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday took strong exception to the Governor summoning the State’s top brass instead of seeking a report directly from him, as Home Minister, on the law and order situation in response to what he called the malicious and politically motivated charges of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
While the propaganda of the BJP on collapse of law and order in the State was nothing more than a tactic to divert attention from the Farm Laws issue and the resultant farmers’ agitation, if the Governor nevertheless had any concerns on the situation, he should have taken up the matter directly with him (Capt Amarinder) as custodian of the Home Portfolio, said the Chief Minister.
Reacting to the Governor summoning the Punjab Chief Secretary and DGP to question them on the alleged law and order problems in the state amid sporadic incidents of damage to some mobile towers, Capt Amarinder slammed the state BJP leadership for adding fuel to the fire, with their irresponsible statements, in the already surcharged atmosphere triggered by the draconian Farm Laws. He termed it a vicious game-plan of the party to undermine the peaceful agitation of the farmers by terming a few minor incidents of damage to some mobile towers as a law and order problem.
“These damaged towers can be, and are being repaired, but what about the lives of the farmers lost in the bitter cold at the Delhi borders, where they continue to fight for their rights amid total apathy from the BJP-led Government at the Centre?” asked the Chief Minister. He expressed shock over the fact that not a single BJP leader had expressed any concern over the deaths of protesting farmers, including some by suicide. “The lost lives cannot be recovered,” he pointed out, asking the Punjab BJP leaders to stop politicizing a peaceful agitation with their ill-conceived comments.
Instead of the slandering of the farmers with terms like Rs Naxalites’, Rs Khalistanis’ etc., the BJP should press their central leadership in the Government of India to heed the voice of the Rs Annadaatas’ and revoke the black farm laws that were threatening the livelihood and future of the farming community. “At a time when the very existence of our farmers is at stake, the BJP leaders are busy indulging in petty politics and also dragging the Constitutional officer of the Governor into their unsavoury agenda,” he added.
Terming as Rs unfortunate’ the fact that the Governor had bowed to these antics of the BJP, the Chief Minister observed that it had taken just a day for the former to react to the state BJP leadership’s complaint of purported law and order collapse in Punjab. This was in sharp contrast to the prolonged delay in sending to the President the State Amendment Bills, passed by all political parties (barring BJP) in the Vidhan Sabha, for assent, he pointed out.
Capt Amarinder also mocked the BJP Punjab unit’s allegations of assault on democracy in Punjab by the Congress, calling it a shameless act of the pot calling the kettle black. “A party that has virtually destroyed every single democratic institution in the country has no business calling anyone else undemocratic,” he quipped.
PUNJAB BJP CHIEF ALLEGES PARTY LEADERS BEING ‘ATTACKED’ AT BEHEST
OF CONGress
Ludhiana: Punjab BJP chief Ashwani Sharma on Saturday alleged that party leaders and workers were being attacked at the behest of the ruling Congress and blamed Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for the deteriorating law and order situation in the state.
Speaking at a protest rally here against the state government, Sharma cited an incident wherein some people unloaded a cow dung trolley in front of BJP leader Tikshan Sud’s house in Hoshiarpur on Friday. He said such things won’t be tolerated. BJP leaders and workers are being “attacked” at the behest of the Congress, Sharma claimed.
“All those who attacked the house of Tikshan have been identified,” he said. Despite a case being registered in the matter, those who were behind this incident have not yet been arrested, he added. Sharma also demanded that a criminal case be registered against Ludhiana Congress MP Ravneet Singh Bittu for his recent “provocative and inflammatory” statement on the ongoing farmers’’ protest. The state BJP chief said the party would launch an indefinite ‘’dharna’’ here from Monday until the state government orders registration of a case against Bittu.
Speaking at Saturday’s protest rally, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said the Punjab Congress was trying to get the BJP cadres in the state to cow down but the ruling party would not succeed. He said the Congress has “failed” to fulfil any of its election promises and is now trying to divert public attention from its failures by indulging in “mischief”.
Earlier, a group of people from a Sikh organisation protested against the BJP for not accepting the demands of the agitating farmers. Some Congress workers also held a protest at Samrala Chowk, about 500 yards from the venue of the BJP rally.
However, all protesters, both from the Sikh organisation and the Congress, were taken into preventive custody by the police, who had made elaborate security arrangements ahead of the BJP rally. Former union minister Vijay Sampla, BJP leaders and former Punjab ministers Manoranjan Kalia and Tikshan Sud also addressed the rally.