Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday lambasted the state BJP leadership for their “sordid attempts to lower the prestige” of the gubernatorial office by “pulling the Constitutional authority into unsavoury controversies”.
Reacting to BJP state unit’s tweet accusing him of trying to “turn Punjab into another West Bengal”, he alleged that it was the “power-hungry BJP” which had been trying to use the office of the governor for its own vested interests.
“It has been happening in West Bengal, it happened in Maharashtra, and now they are trying to do the same in Punjab,” Singh said, slamming the BJP for its “shameless efforts to force its way into power” in states ruled by other parties.
The BJP, which has been “systemically trampling” all democratic and constitutional institutions, has not spared even the office of Governor, alleged the chief minister, adding “these actions do not behove a party that is the custodian of these institutions as the ruling party at the Centre.”
He quipped that the BJP, despite being a national party, seemed “totally ignorant” about the constitutional provisions, according to which the Governor was the titular head of the state but all administration authority vested with the chief minister.
“Don’t these BJP leaders know that the law and order responsibility of my state lies with me not only as chief minister but also as the home minister?,” he asked, urging the BJP leaders of Punjab to “first learn the ABCs of the Indian Constitution before shooting their mouth on Constitutional matters”.
Describing as “shocking the BJP’s repeated attempts at politicisation of the farmers’ agitation”, Singh alleged that the party was “shamelessly exploiting” the situation and spreading a carnage of lies for furthering its political interests.
This, he said, was evident in their bid to project the farmers’ genuine anger as a law-and-order situation in Punjab.
Incidents of BJP leaders facing the wrath of farmers have been reported from the BJP-ruled Haryana, and even Uttar Pradesh, he pointed out, adding that by the same yardstick those should also be construed as a case of collapse of law and order in those states.
“And if the incidents of farmers venting their anger at BJP leaders in Punjab are at the behest of the ruling Congress here, as they are alleging, then by the same logic, the ruling BJP in Haryana and UP is to blame for the trouble there,” the Punjab chief minister added.
“It was sad that at a time when farmers are dying every day in the bitter winter cold while sitting in protest at Delhi borders for nearly 40 days, the BJP was busy indulging in cheap politics,” Singh said.
The BJP would gain more political mileage by responding to the woes of the farmers and heeding their voice instead of resorting to political theatrics and lies, he said, adding it was high time the ruling party at the Centre stopped “playing” with the lives of the farmers and repealed the farm laws.
“The entire nation can feel the pain of the farmers except the party which heads the country,” Singh said and urged the BJP-led Centre to “climb down from its exalted ego” and bring the farming crisis to an end before it gets completely out of hand.
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