Take up BSF jurisdiction issue with Centre, SAD urges Mann
CHANDIGARH : The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday requested chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann to apprise the Union home minister that the dual jurisdiction of the Punjab Police and the Border Security Force (BSF) was coming in the way of proceeding against drugs and weapon smugglers in the border belt of Punjab.
SAD asked AAP to take up the issue with the Centre so that the extension in jurisdiction given to the BSF should be withdrawn.
Asserting this in a media release issued here, SAD spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said a recent case in which two drug and weapon smugglers escaped the law due to non-cooperation in Faridkot district was an eyeopener.
“It is now clear that the dual jurisdiction is coming in the way of policing in the border areas. Earlier when the jurisdiction of the BSF had been increased from 15 km along the international border to 50 km, it was stated that it was a technical issue and that the BSF would complement the efforts of the state police,” he said, adding that from the Faridkot incident it has become clear that the “BSF wants to work independently and is openly hostile to pleas of cooperation from the Punjab Police”. The SAD leader also requested the CM to apprise the home minister about governor Banwarilal Purohit’s recent tours to the border districts which had also created confusion vis-a-vis the chain of command in Punjab.
Visit Adarsh schools,
SAD tells Mann
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday asked chief minister
Bhagwant Singh Mann to visit meritorious and Adarsh schools established by the erstwhile SAD government.
In a statement issued here, SAD leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal said it would be good for the state if the CM also took his officials to meritorious and Adarsh schools to understand the philosophy behind their establishment by former CM Parkash Singh Badal.
His suggestion came after reports of a call by AAP convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to the state education department to visit and replicate the schools in Delhi in Punjab.
“Punjab needs to build on its strengths instead of importing foreign models into the state. The AAP government should reverse the earlier Congress government policy to let these institutions decay by denying them funds and quality teachers,” he added. Grewal said provision of school uniforms and regulating fee structure of private schools was needed but the government should also look into the functioning of private universities that were fleecing students.
“An impression had gained ground that the owners of these universities have a say in the present government and that they are now free to work as they please,” he charged.
THE SAD ASKED CM TO APPRISE SHAH ABOUT GUV’S TOURS TO BORDER DISTRICTS WHICH HAD CREATED CONFUSION ABOUT THE CHAIN OF COMMAND IN PUNJAB