"Anti Punjab": Bhagwant Mann Slams BJP's Governor Rule Demand For State

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Monday accused BJP leaders, including former chief minister Amarinder Singh, of demanding "governor's rule" in the state and said that people know that these leaders have always been "anti-Punjab".

The Mann-led AAP government has been under fire from the opposition which has been alleging a deteriorating law-and-order situation in the state. The chief minister's also involved in a tussle with Governor Banwarilal Purohit.

It worsened last week with the governor indicating that he is in no hurry to summon the Assembly's Budget session, and reminding the chief minister about his "derogatory response" to a letter from the Raj Bhavan.

Governor's letter to Chief Minister Mann had come two days after the Punjab Cabinet decided to call the assembly session from March 3 and requested the governor to summon the House.

"Capt Amarinder Singh, Kewal Dhillon, Balbir Singh Sidhu, Fateh Jang Bajwa, Raj Kumar Verka, Gurpreet Kangar, Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi... all Congressmen (who are) in BJP these days can often be seen around the Governor's residence. They are speaking about the governor's rule in Punjab. People of Punjab know that they have always remained anti-Punjab," Mr Mann said in his tweet in Punjabi.

AAP MP Raghav Chadha on Sunday said the Punjab government has been forced to move the Supreme Court as the Governor was not responding to the state cabinet's decision of convening the budget session of the assembly.

Meanwhile, Punjab BJP leader Fateh Jang Bajwa demanded the governor's rule in Punjab while attacking the AAP government over various issues, including alleged deteriorating law and order in the state.

"Our party, while considering the present situation, demands that governor's rule should be imposed in Punjab," Mr Bajwa said here on Monday and accused the AAP of not being able to run the state.

He said the state government was talking about attracting investments from other states but considering the present law-and-order situation, "there is a fear that the existing industry may leave".

Meanwhile, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal also attacked the AAP government over the law and order issue. In a statement, Mr Badal said, "No one is safe in today's Punjab." "The police force has been bottled down by the AAP administration as was witnessed recently during the attack on the Ajnala police station by radicals led by Amritpal Singh. This, as well as other incidents, which have revealed the complete lack of an integrated command structure, have demoralized the state police and compounded the problem," he alleged.

Punjab BJP leader Subhash Sharma slammed the AAP for holding protests over CBI arresting Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, stating the arrest was made on the basis of proof.

SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia demanded that the CBI probe into the Delhi excise policy case be extended to Punjab, claiming Sisodia was also the "architect" of the Punjab excise policy which had caused "losses of hundreds of crores to the state exchequer".

"The actors and directors of the Punjab excise policy are the same as in the case of Delhi. As in the case of Delhi, the CBI should probe the role of senior officers and AAP politicians who had colluded to give huge benefits to select liquor manufacturers," Mr Majithia alleged.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)