E-Paper
Meeting of Punjab opposition parties on law and order put off
Punjab Congress calls off meeting of all opposition parties to take on the AAP govt after SAD, BJP seek deferment
The Punjab Congress on Friday postponed the meeting of all opposition parties on the deteriorating law and order situation in the state after the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sought its deferment.
Also read: Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann visits Moose Wala’s house amid protests, tight security
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring announced the postponement of the meeting scheduled to be held at Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh through a post on social media. “Despite the urgent nature of issues of Punjab’s security and deteriorating law & order, & despite their initial consent however, for reasons best known to them @Akali_Dal & @BJP4Punjab have sought postponement of the all parties meeting, scheduled for today. Hence, meeting stands postponed (sic),” Warring tweeted.
The Congress, the principal opposition party in Punjab, had called the meeting of all opposition parties to evolve a joint strategy to take on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on law and order in the state following a series of incidents of violence. Besides the SAD and the BJP, other parties, including the Sanyukt Akali Dal, CPI, CPI (M) and BSP were also invited to devise a joint strategy to hold the state authorities accountable.
SAD spokesperson and former minister Daljit Singh Cheema said the party has called a meeting of the core committee and will first discuss the matter there.
The opposition parties have been targeting the AAP government on law and order as a series of murders, clashes between members of a right-wing group and Sikh radicals in Patiala, recovery of IEDs packed with RDX from Tarn Taran and some persons in Karnal, and an audacious rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on the Punjab Police’s intelligence wing headquarters in Mohali in recent weeks have raised security concerns.
