Chandigarh, Oct 21 (PTI) Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Wednesday said the Punjab government cannot evade responsibility for its failure to tackle the drug menace and the opposition party will demand Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s resignation in the Punjab assembly session beginning October 22.
The leader of opposition (LoP) was speaking to reporters after meeting anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota’s father, Bhim Singh, in Mansa.
Known for raising his voice against the illegal sale of addictive substances at chemist shops, Jhota was shot dead in broad daylight inside a medical store at a busy marketplace in Mansa on October 13.
Jhota lost his life while fighting against the drug menace, Bajwa said.
He said he assured Singh that the Congress will raise this matter forcefully in the Punjab assembly session and hold the AAP government accountable.
The Bhagwant Mann government cannot be allowed to “evade responsibility for its failure to tackle the drug crisis in Punjab”, he added.
The LoP said the sentiment of Jhota’s father and that of every Punjabi is that this is a “complete failure” of the chief minister, who holds the home portfolio, and he should resign.
“We will demand the CM’s resignation,” Bajwa said.
The demand for a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe by Jhota’s family was “accepted reluctantly” by the AAP government, he claimed.
Bajwa alleged that the drug menace has increased under the AAP government and the law and order situation has deteriorated.
While a protest has been going on in Mansa to demand justice for Jhota, neither Mann nor any of his ministers or MLAs has gone to extend their condolences to his family, he said.
Over a week after Jhota was shot dead, his post-mortem and cremation are yet to take place as his family members and supporters have refused to allow last rites until justice is delivered. They are protesting in Mansa.
Jhota’s body has been lying in the mortuary at the Mansa civil hospital for the past eight days.
In Mansa, Jhota’s wife Manpreet Kaur told a gathering of protesters that the family cannot take any decision, including getting the post-mortem done, without their consent and that of the joint action committee.
The CBI took over the investigation into Jhota’s murder after the Punjab government’s Department of Home Affairs granted consent on October 20 for the central agency to exercise its powers and jurisdiction across the state for the investigation.
On Tuesday, during his day-long Punjab visit, Union Home Minister Amit Shah met the families of Jhota and other individuals who lost their lives due to drug-related issues in Punjab.
The Union minister said he had never felt so deeply saddened in life as he did while meeting them and also called out the AAP government for failing to curb the drug menace. PTI SUN DIV
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