Will Visit Border Districts Even If Chief Minister "Feels Bad": Punjab Governor

Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit responded on Friday to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's dig at him for visiting the state's border districts, and said he will not refrain from doing so even if the AAP leader "feels bad".

Mr Mann had on Thursday hit out at Governor Purohit, saying he should refrain from creating an "atmosphere of conflict" and instead inaugurate a seminar at a university.

The governor, who earlier had been at loggerheads with the chief minister over various issues, also asked Mann "not to be afraid of him" and stressed that there was no reason for him to be "upset".

Addressing the media on Friday evening, Mr Purohit spoke at length about his tours to the six border districts of Pathankot, Amritsar, Ferozepur, Fazilka, Gurdaspur and Tarn Taran.

He stressed that because of his visit, coordination between the police force and central agencies has improved which will help in their efforts to check smuggling of drugs and weapons from Pakistan.

Mr Purohit also said village-level defence committees have been formed in border villages at his instance and that he has also declared cash prizes for villages helping in the recovery of drones and drugs.

Speaking to reporters in Jalandhar on Thursday, Mr Mann said the governor holds a constitutional post and should fulfil his responsibility "and we will fulfil ours".

He was reacting to Mr Purohit's visits to border districts and meetings with villagers and officials of the police and central agencies.

Replying to a question about it, Mr Purohit said, "Even if he feels bad about my visit, I will still go." Referring to his current role, the governor said, "I meet all. I meet representatives of every party. I listen to them. There is no politics in me."

On the issue being made out of his visits, Mr Purohit said, "Why the CM saab needs to be afraid of me? Why should the governor be a problem for anybody?"

Referring to his first visit to border districts several months back, Mr Purohit told media persons that he came to know about a lack of coordination between central agencies and the state police force.

"How to rectify it, was a challenge for me. People were afraid and they could not muster the courage. In villages, there is a culture that people know each other closely, they live like a family and know who is doing what," he said.

He said he involved all central agencies, including the Army, BSF, NIA, Narcotic Control Bureau and the Intelligence Bureau, and officials of the state police force for coordination in checking smuggling of drugs.

"This is my idea to set up village-level defence committee," Mr Purohit said, adding, "I told central agencies to call village-level defence committee members once a year for a meeting.

"Drugs should be ended, smugglers need to be caught," he said, adding that CCTV cameras were also being installed near border areas.

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