Chandigarh, January 16
Bharatiya Janata Party’s State President Sunil Jakhar said that Bhagwant Mann is the Chief Minister of Punjab and the people of Punjab will themselves deal with his failures. However, the people of Punjab will not accept Arvind Kejriwal as Punjab’s “Super CM.” Today, under the leadership of Party President Sunil Jakhar, the BJP laid siege to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s residence to question the Aam Aadmi Party government for its failure to curb the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, rising gangsterism, corruption, and the spread of drugs.
Addressing the gathering, Jakhar said that the party had come to get House No. 50—meant for the Chief Minister—vacated from Arvind Kejriwal, who has become the de facto ruler of Punjab. He said that the people of Punjab want a Punjabi to be the Chief Minister, and they will not tolerate outsiders coming and ruling the state. He added that the BJP had come to help Bhagwant Mann reclaim his authority, but by getting party leaders arrested through the police, Mann had only harmed his own position.
The BJP President said that today the common person in Punjab is not safe and a “gangster raj” prevails. There is no protection for life and property. Development works are stalled, and corruption has reached its peak. In a sarcastic tone, Jakhar told Mann that the people of Punjab elected him as Chief Minister—not Arvind Kejriwal. He said the BJP had come to remind Mann to accept the fact that he himself is the Chief Minister, to step forward and discharge his duties, and to take care of Punjab. He added that while the leaders from Delhi will eventually leave, Bhagwant Mann alone will have to answer to Punjab.
Calling upon Mann to “protect his turban,” Jakhar urged him not to let Punjab’s honour be trampled at the feet of leaders from Delhi. Continuing his political jibe, he said that the BJP is actually helping Mann remove Kejriwal from Punjab. He added that ever since leaders like Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Satyendar Jain—having little to do in Delhi—started frequenting Punjab, the state’s law and order situation has gone from bad to worse.
Jakhar said that for the past four years, this government has been raising emotional issues to hide its weaknesses so that people do not question it on real issues. He reminded the Chief Minister that the people of Punjab have removed two governments over the issue of sacrilege, and despite four years having passed, the government has done nothing on the promises made by Mann on this issue. He said that last year, the government launched a “war against drugs” for three months, but drug abuse has continued to increase. By now launching a second phase and expressing a lack of trust in the police, the government has openly admitted its failure.
Jakhar questioned the success rate of the anti-drone system installed at a cost of ₹55 crore and demanded that the government make it public. Hinting at the stench of corruption in this matter related to national security, he claimed that the system has a failure rate of 99.70 percent and that the project has completely failed. He said accountability would be fixed for this misuse of public money.
Sunil Jakhar said that the BJP stands firmly with public issues. He added that the people of Punjab are now looking towards the party with great hope and that the party is steadily finding its place in the hearts of the people. On this occasion, Working President Ashwani Sharma, Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu, and senior BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia also addressed the gathering.
