Chandigarh: The video of a speech by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, levelling serious allegations against Rajya Sabha member and his party’s senior leader Raghav Chadha, has snowballed into a major political controversy in Punjab, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
In the video, which is circulating on social media, Singh has alleged that at least two officers of the Punjab Police are involved in supporting the drug trade in Amritsar and these officers are Chadha’s “blue-eyed boys”.
Chadha is one of the leaders closest to AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and has been in London since the first week of March, reportedly for an eye surgery. Kejriwal is currently lodged in Tihar Jail following his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi excise policy case.
Earlier, Chadha had come in for severe criticism from opposition leaders for being absent when the party was faced with a crisis following Kejriwal’s arrest on 21 March.
Messages sent on Chadha’s number for his response to Singh’s allegations remained unanswered till the time of filing of this report.
The allegations have not only caused huge embarrassment to the AAP, but also given fresh fodder to the opposition to attack party leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his government.
Opposition leaders are demanding a probe into the allegations and are questioning Mann’s silence on the matter.
Singh, a former IPS officer who resigned from his job in the state to join politics, is the MLA from Amritsar North and is known to be critical not only of his opponents but his own party as well.
In the video, Singh speaks at a “mega rally” he organised in Amritsar on 14 April to seek votes for the AAP candidate for the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal. In his speech, he says that whatever drugs are sold in Amritsar “are of the police”.
“This is the same police that have not been able to control the open sale of drugs. I know everything… The same people are still there… five commissioners have come and gone and I have talked to the DGPs (Director Generals of Police) as well… that at least those people (policemen) who are selling drugs should be transferred out from Amritsar to Batala… There is one SP (superintendent of police) and there is one DSP (deputy superintendent of police) who look after the civil lines area in Amritsar North and are the blue-eyed boys of Raghav Chadha,” says Singh.
“I never question why somebody has been posted at a place… or shift them out… if you like these people, then there is no point in saying anything… (we are told to) somehow carry on with them… who am I to carry on with them.. you carry on with them,” he adds.
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Opposition demands action
Leader of the opposition, senior Congressman Partap Singh Bajwa, has demanded a thorough investigation into the allegations levelled by Singh.
“A thorough investigation should be conducted as the @AAP Punjab MLA from Amritsar North, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, accused Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha of having a close association with those police officers who allegedly indulged in drug trading. Cabinet minister and AAP candidate from Amritsar Lok Sabha Constituency, @KuldeepSinghAAP was also present, when Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh made these allegations. He should have assured on the occasion that the matter would be probed further, however, he failed to utter a single word on the issue and preferred to keep quiet,” Bajwa said on social media.
Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa wrote to the Election Commission of India Friday asking it to intervene in the matter. Attaching a clip of the video, Randhawa asked for the registration of an FIR and investigation.
आज मैने माननीय @ECISVEEP को पत्र लिखकर अपील की है की आप विधायक @Kvijaypratap की तरफ से शरेआम बेचे जा रहे नशे वाले बयान को गंभीरता के साथ लेते हुए सख्त करवाई की जाए। क्यूंकि पंजाब सरकार ही खुद नशे के व्यापार में लग गई है। पंजाब को इंसाफ की कोई उम्मीद नजर नहीं आ रही। @BhagwantMann… pic.twitter.com/oNPnBV9AzC
— Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa (@Sukhjinder_INC) April 19, 2024
Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira asked Mann if he would be registering a case under The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act against Chadha.
Now that @AamAadmiParty Amritsar Mla Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh has publicly leveled serious allegations of drug mafia nexus between police and politicians like @raghav_chadha i urge @BhagwantMann to come forward and state what action he intends to take against police officers and… pic.twitter.com/8sEc8oR6Uq
— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) April 17, 2024
Sandeep Jakhar, suspended MLA of the Congress from Abohar, highlighted Mann’s silence on the issue.
State of affairs…yesterday, serious allegations were levelled against senior police officers of Amritsar, giving patronage to drug dealers by sitting AAP MLA @Kvijaypratap & in turn the officers had the protection of a sitting Rajya Sabha MP, but strangely, no statement on this…
— Sandeep Jakhar (ਜਾਖੜ/जाखड़) (@SandeepJakharpb) April 18, 2024
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia wrote on social media that AAP’s own MLAs were exposing the truth of their government.
Putting out a clip from a press conference by AAP MLA Jagsir Singh, in which he rues the deterioration of law and order and the inefficiency of the Punjab Police, Majithia said: “All this just goes on to show that Bhagwant Mann is a failed chief minister and a failed home minister.”
Congress leader Pargat Singh also lashed out at the CM for not doing anything despite revelations by his own party’s MLA. “This is your own party’s MLA who is levelling the serious allegations. Bhagwant Mann Ji, you should immediately remove him (Chadha) as the Rajya Sabha member and investigate the matter,” he wrote on X.
ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ @BhagwantMann ਜੀ, ਤੁਹਾਡੀ ਪਾਰਟੀ ਦੇ ਵਿਧਾਇਕ @Kvijaypratap ਦੱਸ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ, @raghav_chadha ਦੇ ਖਾਸਮ ਖ਼ਾਸ ਅਧਿਕਾਰੀ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਵਿੱਚ ਨਸ਼ਾ ਵੇਚ ਰਹੇ ਹਨ।
ਤੁਹਾਨੂੰ ਤੁਰੰਤ @raghav_chadha ਤੋਂ ਰਾਜ ਸਭਾ ਦੀ ਮੈਂਬਰਸ਼ਿਪ ਵਾਪਿਸ ਲੈਣੀ ਚਾਹੀਦੀ ਹੈ ਅਤੇ ਇਸ ਸਭ ਦੀ ਜਾਂਚ ਕਰਨੀ ਚਾਹੀਦੀ ਹੈ। pic.twitter.com/q7rebDLzyj
— Pargat Singh (@PargatSOfficial) April 17, 2024
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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