Khaira cries foul over Cong workers’ names in old FIR
Says alleged vendetta did not begin recently
The Congress MLA from Bholath, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, on Monday alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab is indulging in a “state-sponsored vendetta” by misusing the police machinery to target him, his associates and party workers. He claimed that two of his close aides were deliberately and falsely implicated in a three-year-old case with the sole intention of intimidating democratic opposition at the grassroots level.
Addressing the media, Khaira said a scrutiny of the police records makes it evident that Kuldeep Singh, a village sarpanch, and Karandip Singh Khakh, his office secretary — both senior Congress associates from Bholath — had been named in FIR No. 25 of 2023 at the Bholath police station without any substantive basis. He alleged that the case, which pertains to an incident three years ago, had been selectively revived as part of a calculated political strategy to harass and silence opposition voices.
Khaira asserted that this alleged vendetta did not begin recently, but dates back to the time when he openly opposed what he described as the “anti-Punjab policies” of the AAP government. He recalled that five criminal cases were registered against him during that period, leading to what he termed his illegal incarceration for nearly five months.
The Congress leader further alleged that during the recent block samiti elections, several Congress candidates and their supporters in the Bholath constituency were falsely implicated in criminal cases to discourage them from campaigning and to influence the electoral process. Holding Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal directly responsible, Khaira accused the government of converting the Punjab Police into a tool for settling political scores. He said such actions were reminiscent of authoritarian practices and posed a serious threat to democracy, dissent and constitutional freedoms.
Khaira sought withdrawal of allegedly false cases and strict accountability of police officers acting under the political pressure.
