New Delhi: The opposition Congress posed six questions to the central and the Punjab governments following Amritpal Singh’s arrest Sunday, even as the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hailed the close cooperation that resulted in the action taken against the radical preacher.
The arrest of the Waris Punjab De head came a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Bengaluru praised the Punjab Police for doing a “good job” and asserted that there was no Khalistan wave in the state.
In Bengaluru, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala asked why were the central investigative agencies not disclosing the details of the forces supporting Amritpal.
“Who helped the anti-India propagandist and supporter of terrorists Amirtpal to escape in the first instance? Where was Amritpal hidden all these days, and who sheltered him? Where did he stay, and are those forces, not anti-India forces? Who are the accomplices of Amritpal, and why are NIA, CBI, IB and Punjab Police not disclosing it?” Surjewala asked.
“Who are the co-conspirators of Amritpal operating from the inside and outside India, and what action did the government of India and Punjab take against them? Does Amritpal have a connection with somebody in Central and the state government?”
Congress MP from Ludhiana Ravneet Singh Bittu compared the action of Punjab Police with its Uttar Pradesh counterpart to show how the former delivered the operation professionally.
“Look at what happened in Uttar Pradesh recently and look at the manner our police conducted this whole operation. The police acted with complete restraint and not a single drop of blood was shed. Also the fact that Amritpal couldn’t tolerate the manner in which the police stopped his wife from going to the UK and he decided to surrender shows that he is not concerned about the mothers, sisters and wives of all those young Sikhs he incited. He is concerned only about his own family,” he told the media.
On its part, the AAP lauded the Punjab Police for the manner in which it carried out the mission. AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi that his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann handled the “mission” with maturity and courage.
“We are committed to the peace and security of Punjab. We are also ready to take tough decisions for this. Punjab Police achieved success without any bloodshed and firing. Many thanks to the public for maintaining peace and supporting the Punjab government during this period,” Kejriwal added.
पंजाब के अमन चैन और सुरक्षा के लिए हम वचनबध है। इसके लिए कठोर निर्णय लेने को भी हम तैयार हैं
CM @BhagwantMann साहिब ने इस मिशन को परिपक्वता और साहस से पूरा किया। बिना किसी रक्तपात और गोली चलाये पंजाब पुलिस ने कामयाबी हासिल की
इस दौरान शांति बनाये रखने और पंजाब सरकार का साथ देने… https://t.co/YXbKE4KDmG
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) April 23, 2023
Similarly, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh tweeted in Hindi that his party’s government has the courage to take the harshest steps for the sake of the people.
पंजाब की “आप” सरकार किसी भी हालत में पंजाब की शांति भंग नहीं होने देगी। लोगों की सुरक्षा हमारे लिए सर्वोपरि है। हमने दिखा दिया कि ज़रूरत पड़ने पर लोगों के लिए हम सख़्त से सख़्त कदम लेने की भी हिम्मत रखते हैं। सब लोग शांति बनाये रखें। pic.twitter.com/GpbpY5em4N
— Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) April 23, 2023
Reacting to Amritpal’s arrest, senior Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Daljit Singh Cheema said that Akal Takht jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh had already issued a statement suggesting to Amritpal that he should give himself up to the police. It was good that he had done that, he said.
“With Amritpal’s arrest, hopefully the Punjab government will put an end to the manner in which it was unnecessarily picking up Sikh youth for no reason at all and demolish the image of the Sikhs across the world,” Cheema added.
After seeing erosion of their electoral base, the Akalis are resorting to Panthic politics in the recent weeks. The SAD has targeted the Punjab government for harassing Amritpal’s wife and extended legal aid to those arrested in cases related to the self-styled preacher.
‘Truce’ between BJP & AAP?
“It is a good step. Both state and central govt agencies worked closely and he was arrested. No person can be allowed to disrupt Punjab’s peace. It’s a border state and peace should be maintained. Law will take its own course in this case,” Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma told ThePrint.
BJP general secretary Dushyant Gautam hailed the arrest of Amritpal as a case of close coordination of state and center on sensitive issues. “Any offender can’t fool law and order. The Punjab government has worked in tandem with the Centre in arresting Amritpal,” he told media.
“Punjab took a little time… Had it been done sooner, it would have been better. How long can an absconder be on the run? …Stringent action should be taken against those who spread terror and fear,” Union minister Anurag Thakur told media.
Political watchers believe that the Bhagwant Mann government realised after the February’s Ajnala episode that the Centre’s cooperation is necessary for smooth functioning of law and order in a border state like Punjab.
Before the AAP came into power in 2022, the erstwhile Amarinder Singh government worked in close coordination with the Union home ministry on law and order and sensitive issues despite the Congress’ difference with the BJP, they said.
On 2 March, Mann met Shah in Delhi and announced that the Centre and the state will work together on the law and order issue.
A sense emerged in the BJP that the Punjab government acted in this case as per the Union home ministry’s suggestion and that targeting Mann would not get any political dividends, they added.
This was in contrast to the BJP’s earlier broadside against the AAP that it would not be able to handle the sensitive border state. Both Amarinder Singh and Sunil Jakhar had attacked the AAP leadership when Amritpal and his supporters gheraoed the Ajanala police station.
But after the 2 March meeting, the AAP in Punjab strategically chose to work with the Centre and the BJP reciprocated by not attacking the Bhagwant Mann government.
Last week, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had lauded Mann for the action against Amritpal. “I want to thank the chief minister of Punjab for taking the right action at the right time. I don’t have any political issue in this matter,” the BJP leader said in an interview to a private channel. “…if someone is doing good work, he should be appreciated.”
As a reflection of this understanding seemingly, Delhi minister and AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj hailed the close cooperation of central and state governments that led to the arrest of Amritpal.
“The Centre and the state should work together on issues concerning the country’s security. They should exchange information and do intelligence sharing. In this case, the government authorities at all levels worked in unison,” he told the media.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: ‘Amritpal didn’t surrender, came out of gurdwara when he saw there was no escape,’ say Punjab Police