1 week Ago
Ludhiana: A grenade attack on the house of state's former BJP minister Manoranjan Kalia in Jalandhar has brought the Punjab govt under fire from the opposition, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) warning it that the state risks sliding back into its darkest days of militancy. Condemning the attack, both sides from the opposition accused the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of failing to maintain law and order in the state. They claimed that incidents of bombings, murders and thefts had become common, and cautioned the govt that the current trajectory could return Punjab to a period of violence and unrest reminiscent of past decades.
"This is not an isolated incident," said senior BJP member Jeewan Gupta. "When AAP formed the govt, Khalistan advocate Gurpatwant Singh Pannun had claimed to have helped (AAP national convener) Arvind Kejriwal's party win in Punjab. The party never denounced or denied it.
It's becoming evident that AAP is enabling these forces and dragging Punjab back into the black days." Gurdeep Singh Gosha, another BJP member, claimed that the attacks were a direct result of the state govt's inability to act on previous threats. "It's unacceptable that the homes of BJP leaders are now being targeted.
The failure to curb earlier attacks has emboldened criminals. No one feels safe in Punjab today," he alleged. SAD's Maheshinder Singh Grewal delivered an even sharper rebuke, saying the state was "running on God's support" due to what he called the collapse of governance under AAP.
"The grenade attack on Manoranjan Kalia's home proves there is no functioning govt in Punjab," Grewal alleged. "We didn't see this level of fear and corruption even in the 1980s and '90s. If the chief minister can't provide people with safety, he should resign.
People are living in fear." No injuries were reported in Monday night's attack on Kalia's house, and police investigations are in progress. MSID:: 120096190 413 |.
