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Nip the evil in the bud: Warring on Ajnala incident
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said that people had not elected the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to push the state back to the dark days of violence. “What we are seeing today is reminiscent of the past which every Punjabi is scared of,” he said on Ajnala incident.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Thursday condemned the violence in Ajnala town where supporters of ‘Waris Punjab De’ organisation attacked a police station and injured several cops.
Condemning the protestors for taking the holy ‘bir’ of Guru Granth Sahib to the police station, Warring said this was unprecedented and appealed to Akal Takht jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh to take note of the matter and take necessary action. “Nip the evil in the bud,” he said in a statement, while warning the state government against letting such incidents go without law taking its own course.
He said that people had not elected the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to push the state back to the dark days of violence. “What we are seeing today is reminiscent of the past which every Punjabi is scared of,” he said, asking chief minister Bhagwant Mann to take firm action.
The PCC president warned that Punjab cannot afford another era of darkness and violence which people like Amritpal are trying to thrust on the state. He also criticised the Punjab government for succumbing to the pressure of the protesters and deciding to withdraw the cases of violence. “You are setting a dangerous precedent and there will be no end to it,” he warned the chief minister while asking him to let the law take its own course and not surrender to lawlessness.
Incident more than law and order collapse: Amarinder Singh
Former Punjab chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday said the Ajnala incident was more than a law and order collapse. “This is not only a complete collapse of the law and order situation in Punjab, it is more serious than that,” he said. Amritpal’s supporters, some of them brandishing swords and guns, broke through barricades and stormed into a police station complex here on Thursday, camping there till they were “assured” that an arrested man would be released. Three policemen were hurt during the clash, officials said.
The BJP MP pointed out that the incident has serious security implications for the state and the country and warned there was a particular pattern in these incidents, which does not bode well for national security. “Particularly when Pakistan is there to encourage and exploit such a situation,” he said, as he questioned the competence of the state government in dealing with such a situation.
Singh also questioned the motive behind carrying holy Guru Granth Sahib to the protest site, which, he said, was unacceptable.
The former CM appreciated the restraint exercised by the police in dealing with the armed trespassers.
