Chandigarh: The Punjab Congress has hit out against what it terms the “height of petty vendetta politics” of the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state, even as the central leadership of the two parties continues seat-sharing negotiations for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The Congress censure of AAP came after one of the most vocal critics of the Mann government in Punjab, Congress MLA from the state’s Bholath constituency, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, was booked in a fresh case by Punjab Police last week. The FIR — the fifth against Khaira since the AAP came to power in Punjab in March 2022, toppling the previous Congress regime — was registered against the Congress leader for allegedly threatening a witness in another case pending against him.
Khaira was arrested on 28 September last year after the police revived a 2015 drug case against him, and the MLA has been in jail ever since.
The latest FIR filed Thursday, came hours before orders regarding his bail were to be pronounced in the Punjab and Haryana High Court. While Khaira received bail in the drug case, he was immediately arrested in the fresh one.
Taking to social media platform X (previously Twitter) Monday, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring asked the Punjab Police to clarify why they were sitting over the intelligence input that there was “a serious threat to Khaira’s life”.
“Urge @DGPPunjabPolice to clarify why the police is not acting on the serious threat to the life of MLA @sukhpalkhaira handed out by gangster Arshdeep Landa who has recently been designated as a terrorist by the GOI.”
Warring added, “We’ve learnt that ADGP [assistant director general of police Intelligence is aware of the above mentioned threat for the last one month but there is no concrete preventive measure taken by @bhagwantmann government to secure the life of @INCPunjab MLA & his family. In case there is any attempt to harm Sukhpal S Khaira or his family, we would hold the CM & DGP [director general of police] responsible.”
Earlier, following Khaira’s re-arrest Thursday, Warring had said that justice had been denied to the Congress MLA.
“Justice Denied! The recent FIR against @SukhpalKhaira is a proof that the @AAPPunjab govt is doing vendetta politics. The FIR has been registered just to harass him even further. This is not Badlaav [change]… this is Badla [revenge]!” he alleged.
Responding to Khaira’s arrest, leader of the opposition in the state, Partap Singh Bajwa, wrote on social media platform X (previously Twitter) Thursday: “This is the height of the petty vendetta politics of the @AAPPunjab govt. Right after the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted the regular bail to Congress MLA @SukhpalKhaira, he was booked again under sec 195A & 506 of IPC [Indian Penal Code] by the Subhanpur police.”
Bajwa added: “Khaira is a bold and outspoken leader, who often criticises the CM @BhagwantMann for his anti-people policies. The entire sordid episode shows that the AAP govt in Punjab has got scared of the Congress party. It doesn’t tolerate the presence of the opposition at all, which is highly deplorable.
When asked about the fresh case against Khaira, AAP’s chief spokesperson for Punjab, Malvinder Singh Kang, told ThePrint that “in such cases, the law takes its own course”.
The AAP and the Congress are part of the INDIA bloc of parties in Opposition to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre.
Several leaders of the Punjab Congress, however, have made it clear to the party high command that any alliance with the AAP for the general elections could be suicidal for the state unit.
Last month, party leaders including Bajwa, Pargat Singh and Rajkumar Chabbewal had made public statements against any alliance with the AAP.
Ahead of Monday’s seat-sharing talks for the 2024 elections, between AAP and the Congress in Delhi — over a sumptuous lunch of methi paratha, chicken and halwa, among other dishes, according to a leader present — Bajwa told the media that party leaders had been asked not to talk in public about their alliance in Punjab for the Lok Sabha polls, but he said the sentiments of the Punjab Congress had been clearly conveyed to the high command.
Also Read: Sukhpal Khaira, arrested Punjab MLA who used social media to pan one & all — from Jagir Kaur to Mann
Congress leaders under scanner
In the 21 months since the AAP came to power in Punjab, over a dozen Congress leaders, including a former chief minister and deputy chief minister, have been facing probes ordered by the state government.
As many as four former Congress cabinet ministers have been arrested by the vigilance bureau on charges of corruption.
On 9 July last year, former deputy chief minister of Punjab O.P. Soni was arrested by the vigilance bureau for allegedly amassing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.
Former CM Charanjit Singh Channi has also been questioned by the bureau on similar charges.
Three other former ministers — Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Sunder Sham Arora — have been arrested on charges of corruption.
Other former ministers — Balbir Singh Sidhu and Gurpreet Kangar, who both joined the BJP last year — are facing vigilance probes for amassing disproportionate assets.
Former finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal, who too joined the BJP last year, has also been questioned by the bureau.
Khaira, apart from the case registered against him on 28 September last year and the one registered last week, is facing three other cases.
One case registered against him in July last year pertains to the Khaira family’s property settlement records of 51 years ago. Another case was registered against him in April last year on the complaint of the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) of Bholath, who had alleged that Khaira along with his colleagues had come to his office and threatened him.
In September 2022, Khaira and Warring were booked for violation of the IT Act.
RTI activist and known AAP critic Manik Goyal pointed out on social media Saturday that the fresh FIR against Khaira was registered at 2 am on 4 January, the day when his bail application had to come up for hearing.
Releasing a copy of the fresh FIR, Goyal said the contents of the FIR were “peculiar”.
He pointed out that the wife of witness Kashmir Singh in the drug case against Khaira had alleged that on 15 October, unidentified persons had visited their house and asked Kashmir Singh not to testify against Khaira in court.
“@SukhpalKhaira was arrested on 28/09/23, which is 17 days before this claimed incident, and the FIR is lodged 2.5 months later on bail day 04/01/24 at 2 am. Moreover, as per affidavit, Kashmir Singh gave statement Under Section 164 on 30/10/23. If the statement was made on that date, how could Khaira have threatened Kashmir Singh’s wife or Kashmir Singh 15 days prior?” he wrote.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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