Mansa, Oct 17 (IANS) In the aftermath of the brutal killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota by a medical store owner, Congress leaders said on Saturday that if the heads of the Punjab government were accountable to the public, then common people wouldn’t take the law into their own hands.
They added that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann should resign on ethical grounds for not being able to protect the people of the state.
Speaking to reporters, Congress in-charge Sachin Pilot said, “A few days ago, a person was shot dead during a live stream. The person who raises their voice against drug abuse in Punjab or who works to expose the government is openly targeted and loses their life.”
Pilot said that there can be no greater failure of law and order than the current situation in Punjab. “It is deeply painful that the Home Minister of the state and Chief Minister of Punjab, who should take responsibility, offer reassurance, and ensure justice, fail to do so and instead use derogatory language for the Opposition if they raise their voice against them,” he said.
Pilot further said, “We want that the use of ‘chitta’ be stopped in Punjab. The ongoing brutality on people should be stopped. Lawlessness is rampant.”
“The AAP government, which won with a huge majority, has not been able to do justice to the people of Punjab. The Chief Minister wasted his opportunity to serve the people of Punjab. He should step down from his position on ethical grounds,” he added.
Speaking to IANS, Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla said, “Look, Punjab is currently going through a dark phase. A very big crime is being committed against the people; atrocities are being inflicted upon them, and they are being killed openly.”
“People raise their voices in anger for government attention, but the government helps those who commit crimes. That is why people take the law into their own hands. If the government had done its job, the home minister and the chief minister would have done their job, then the common masses wouldn’t have to take the law into their own hands,” Aujla said.
“Today they are attacking the police; it means there is no fear of the police, of the law. The responsible authorities, the bureaucrats, are not doing their work. All of them have failed in doing their job; all of them just want money. Does the Cabinet not know all of this?
“Are the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, or Secretary Home not aware of all this? Unfortunately, the drug mafia is so deeply embedded in the system that till the time the Chief Minister and Home Minister of Punjab take cognisance, it won’t get better,” Aujla added.
–IANS
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