Senior Congress leader and former Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board member Kanwal Bakshi, on Wednesday, expressed shock over the attack on assistant inspector general (AIG) SS Mand by Akali leaders in Ludhiana.
Bakshi said the law and order situation in the state had become worrisome and no one was feeling safe. "The situation is out of the Punjab government's control as the police, who are meant to maintain law and order, are also at the receiving end of Akali hooligans. First the ASI's murder in Amritsar and now this incident has shaken the faith of the people in the government machinery," he said.

Claiming that Punjab had not seen such a situation in the past 15 years, Bakshi regretted that the morale of the Punjab Police was at its ebb, as evident from their body language. Bakshi said the chief minister and the deputy chief minister had been assuring people that they would not tolerate such things, but they and their party leaders were responsible for the mess. He said that it was only because of their backing and support that such a situation had arisen.

"Akalis want to rule with terror. The CM and home minister Sukhbir Singh Badal should own moral responsibility for the attack and resign. The state police force should rise to the occasion and stop being puppets in the hands of unruly Akalis. The police should learn a lesson from such incidents and do justice to their uniform," said Bakshi, appealing to the central government to depute central forces in Punjab to protect the people and the police from law-breaking hooligans of the Shiromani Akali Dal who, at the behest of their political masters, were disturbing the peace of the state.

Claiming that Punjab had become more terrifying than the ravines of Chambal, Bakshi asked the Centre to impose President's rule in the state.