Is CM capable of handling law & order, asks Anurag Thakur
NEW DELHI/CHANDIGARH: Hitting out at the AAP over violence in Patiala, I&B minister Anurag Thakur wondered who was in-charge of law and order in Punjab as chief minister Bhagwant Mann “spent more time outside the state”.
“There is a breakdown of law and order in Punjab. The chief minister is spending more time outside the state. We do not know who is looking after the law and order in the state,” Thakur told reporters here.
He was responding to questions about the clashes that took place in Patiala over an “antiKhalistan march” in which at least four persons were injured.
“Is the Punjab government and chief minister capable of controlling the situation? Will strict action be taken against those who tried to disrupt the harmony and brotherhood in Punjab?” Thakur asked.
The BJP leader demanded to know what kind of ideology was the AAP trying to promote in Punjab. “Even before elections, questions were raised about the intentions and capabilities of the AAP. Their links with certain people were questioned too,” Thakur said, adding that such questions about the ruling party in Punjab were a matter of concern as it was a “border state”.
“The BJP wants development, peace, and brotherhood in Punjab, and stern action should be taken against the rioters,” Thakur said.
Sukhbir: Outcome of administrative incompetence
Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday described the incidents of violence and communal flare up in Patiala as a matter of grave concern and anxiety and said that these were the direct outcome of the utter administrative incompetence.
“In a matter of just a few weeks, the AAP government has undone the fruit of decades of sacrifices of Punjabis for peace and communal harmony and brought the state to the edge of a dangerous communal precipice. This is the direct outcome of the politics of confrontation and communal hatred that AAP has been practising in Punjab in recent years,” said Sukhbir in a statement.
SAD senior vice-president Prem Singh Chandumajra said that violent incident in Patiala was a conspiracy hatched by the AAP to divert attention from the core issues of low crop yield and power crisis that the people of Punjab were facing.
Mann trying to pass the buck: Punjab BJP
The Punjab unit of BJP criticised the CM for trying to pass the buck over Patiala violence.
Reacting to the CM’s statement that the BJP and the Akali Dal were behind Friday’s incidents, state BJP general secretary Subhash Sharma reminded him that the law and order was the responsibility of the government and more so he was himself holding the portfolio of the Home Minister.
“Who is stopping you from identifying the culprits?” he asked the chief minister.
Kejriwal warns of ‘strict action’
Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday warned of strict action against perpetrators of clashes that broke out between two groups in Patiala. Speaking to the reporters at the joint conference of chief ministers and chief justices of high courts, Kejriwal said, “Whosoever will disrupt the peace of Punjab, strict action will be taken against them.”