A political slugfest erupted in Punjab after a drug convict’s “suicide bid” outside the Sangrur administrative complex on Sunday, alleging that he was threatened for posting videos on “drug menace in his area.”
His family had alleged that he was “harassed and subjected to casteist slurs for questioning state finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema on supply of drugs at an event in Dirba. “The Namol villager has nine FIRs registered against him. BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia accused the Punjab government of harassing people who raised concerns about drug sales in the state. “This is a matter of great concern. If our brothers and sisters of Punjab raise the issue of drugs, chief minister Bhagwant Mann does not take action against the mafia or dealers. Instead, action is taken against the person who makes the complaint,” alleged Bhatia. But not even the Mughals and the British could do so, nor can anyone else.”
The incident comes close on the heels of a ‘suicide’ by a Dalit man in Sangrur on September 7. She said such a threat constitutes an offence under Section 226 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and proceedings have been initiated.
the government hit back, saying the Congress and the BJP were “playing low-level politics by defending a man who has 9 FIRs registered against him While the Opposition targeted the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for “targeting people who are questioning the rampant drug problem in the state”. He has been convicted in four cases, including those related to excise and the NDPS Act, and is currently out on bail,” said Sangrur senior superintendent of police Ravjot Kaur Grewal. The SSP said that the victim had posted a social media video threatening to die by suicide if police action was not taken. Congress state in-charge Sachin Pilot said the ruling AAP and the BJP both stand “fully exposed” on the issue of drug menace and asserted that the people are looking at his party with the hope of improving their lives. Former chief minister and Jalandhar MP Charanjit Singh Channi said, “They (AAP) think they can rule Punjab by suppressing people.
AAP Punjab president and cabinet minister Aman Arora accused the opposition of trying to “defame” the AAP regime without understanding the ground reality. “This low-level politics is shameless and condemnable…opposition leaders are creating a false political narrative,” he said.
