State govt 'sleeping' as law and order collapses in Punjab: Anurag Thakur
Rupnagar (Punjab) (PTI): Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Saturday attacked the AAP dispensation in Punjab, saying law and order "collapsed" in the state after the formation of "one government", and suggested it "wakes up" and takes some steps.
His remarks come in the backdrop of the last month Ajnala incident in which self-styled Sikh preacher and Khalistani sympathiser Amritpal Singh and his supporters, carrying swords and guns, clashed with police for the release of one of his aide.
In Delhi, they say the police should be handed over to them, "what have they done to the police (here in Punjab)", the BJP leader and information and broadcasting minister said without naming the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) or its government in the state and in the national capital.
Law and order situation has "collapsed" in the state in the last one year, Thakur, who was here to launch the 'Yuva Utsava-India@2047', told reporters.
"What has happened to Punjab's situation in the last one year? The incidents which took place here, what do they indicate," Thakur asked.
"The Punjab Police used to be discussed throughout the country and today, what this discussion has now turned into. Who is responsible for this?" he asked.
The Union minister wondered if the law and order situation of a state "breaks down too soon with the formation of one government".
To another question, Thakur said law and order is the responsibility of the state government. "I hope that this sleeping government wakes up and its honeymoon (period) is over. It should now wake up and should take some steps," he said
The Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab is facing flak from opposition parties, including the BJP, over the Ajnala incident and a clash between gangsters in Tarn Taran jail that resulted in the death of two criminals held in connection with singer Sidhu Moosewala murder case.
However, Mann, who holds the home affairs portfolio, had earlier said that his government would maintain law and order and no one will be allowed to disturb its hard earned peace.
The BJP has also targeted the AAP government, demanding governor's rule in the state.
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Tejashwi Yadav to head INDIA Bloc’s coordination committee for Bihar assembly elections
Patna: The opposition INDIA bloc has named Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav as the head of its coordination committee for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.
The decision was made during a meeting of the six alliance partners – Congress, RJD, Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation (CPI(ML)), and the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP) – held in Patna on Thursday, April 17.
While the bloc stopped short of formally declaring Yadav as its chief ministerial candidate, it confirmed that he will lead the key decision-making committee for the election campaign. The committee will be responsible for drafting a common minimum programme, finalizing the manifesto, managing seat-sharing talks, and coordinating campaign strategies.
Congress’s Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, speaking at a joint press conference after the meeting, said, “The coordination committee will be the supreme body for the INDIA alliance, overseeing every aspect of the election. Tejashwi Yadav will be its chairman, and members from all alliance partners will be included.”
The meeting followed Yadav’s recent discussions in Delhi with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
Addressing the media after the Patna meeting, Yadav said, “There is deep resentment among the people of Bihar due to unemployment, poverty, and increasing migration. Even the NITI Aayog’s report confirms Bihar as the poorest state despite 20 years of rule under the NDA.”
He further criticized both Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and the central government, stating, “The real double engine in Bihar is crime and corruption.”
In the 2020 Assembly elections, the RJD emerged as the single largest party with 75 seats, while Congress won 19 of the 70 it contested. The CPI(ML) secured 12 of 19 seats, and the VIP, despite exiting the alliance before the elections, won four seats.
The INDIA bloc is now preparing to mount a consolidated challenge to the ruling NDA in the upcoming state polls.
