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Hans India
6 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
CM Mann running 'circus' instead of a government, says Punjab BJP working chief
Chandigarh: Ashwani Sharma, the newly appointed working president of the Punjab BJP, on Sunday, launched a scathing attack on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing him of running a "circus" instead of a government over the past three years and four months. After assuming the charge amid the presence of State BJP President Sunil Jakhar, Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, State BJP National Secretary Narinder Singh Raina and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu, Sharma, who is the legislator from Pathankot, accused Chief Minister Mann of diverting state's attention from core issues by raising trivial matters like "circus performers" distract people from real-life challenges. He questioned why CM Mann, despite convening a special Assembly session on sacrilege, had failed to deliver on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief Arvind Kejriwal's promise on January 12, 2022, of ensuring justice within 30 days in sacrilege cases, including Bargari, through fast-track courts. To obscure the AAP's failure to fulfill its key election pledge of eliminating drugs within 30 days of assuming power, CM Mann launched 'Yudh Nshe Virudh' as a diversionary tactic. "When an AAP MLA accused Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha of having links to the drug trade, CM Mann again attempted to shift focus by declaring this so-called 'war'," he said. Similarly, Sharma alleged that Mann staged a "circus" around corruption to avoid answering why no action has been taken against the four senior Congress leaders he accused of graft in the Punjab Assembly. Sharma, 61, is a veteran party leader and served as the State BJP President twice -- from February 2010 to January 2013 and January 2020 to July 2023. Last week, he was appointed as BJP's Punjab unit working president. On the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) issue, Sharma claimed Mann's government has neglected Punjab's interests by failing to fill the state's reservation of 2,550 posts in the BBMB over the past three years. Instead of addressing this the state government has repeatedly raised the issue of central security forces' deployment in NITI Aayog meetings, passing resolutions in Cabinet and Assembly sessions, the State BJP Working President said. He added that objections should have been raised in BBMB board meetings to halt the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) deployment at the Bhakra-Nangal dam project. Amid widespread protests by farmers and the BJP against land pooling, CM Mann called another special Assembly session as another attempt, Sharma alleged, to divert the public attention. Law and order in Punjab have deteriorated sharply, with gangsters operating with impunity, the State BJP Working President said. "Traders face extortion threats, daylight murders occur, women's jewelry is snatched in broad daylight, custodial deaths are reported, and fake encounter allegations arise," he added. "Yet," Sharma said, "Chief Minister Mann remains preoccupied with his 'circus' to evade accountability." "Bhagwant Mann seems to have forgotten he is no longer a stage performer but holds a constitutional office, the Chief Ministership of Punjab," Sharma remarked. He concluded with a stern warning: "The Punjab BJP will respond in the same language Mann uses, but four times louder, on the streets."
Time of India
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
AAP suspends Amritsar North MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh from party for 5 years
AMRITSAR: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) reportedly suspended Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, the MLA from the Amritsar North Assembly constituency, for five years for alleged anti-party activities. The decision to suspend Kunwar was made by the party's Political Affairs Committee, reportedly in response to his alleged opposition to the arrest of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a case related to the accumulation of disproportionate assets. Kunwar, the former IPS officer who joined politics, was not inducted into the Cabinet since the formation of the govt by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and previously also expressed dissent against the party on a couple of occasions. Following his suspension, he uploaded a verse of Gurbani on his X account: "ਕਬੀਰ ਜਿਸੁ ਮਰਨੇ ਤੇ ਜਗੁ ਡਰੇ ਮੇਰੇ ਮਨਿ ਆਨੰਦ." (Kabir, from death everyone in the world is afraid; but to me, my mind feels bliss). Following the news of his suspension, a large number of Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh's followers and sympathisers gathered at his residence, said Pawan Kumar , a close aide, adding that the party's decision was unjust and excessively harsh. During the 2022 Assembly elections, Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh secured 58,133 votes, defeating SAD candidate Anil Joshi, BJP's Sukhminder Singh Pintu, Congress party's Sunil Dutta, and others. Former Inspector General of Police Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh once headed the Special Investigative Team (SIT) probing Bargari and other sacrilege incidents in Punjab. Sources informed that if Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh is not reinstated and allowed to continue working in the Amritsar North constituency, several other aspirants are prepared to step in. A few leaders have already already approached senior party leaders on Sunday, expressing their interest in replacing him. Sources infomred that at least two prominent figures—one from within AAP—are said to be eyeing the Amritsar North seat for the upcoming Assembly elections. There are also rumours that a current opposition leader may join the party and be positioned as Kunwar's replacement.
