AAP govt’s immaturity to blame for gangster-terrorist nexus: Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar

Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar on Wednesday slammed the state’s AAP government, saying its “immaturity” let gangsters develop a dangerous nexus with terrorist groups involved in drug trafficking.

Holding CM Bhagwant Mann’s “incompetence” responsible for it, he alleged that the state’s intelligence network had failed, with the police now remaining restricted to carrying out “so-called encounters” after incidents occur, merely to create an illusion of action and pacify public anger.

He said that in the recent past, nearly 20 hand-grenade attacks had taken place in Punjab, which was the result of the nexus between rising gangsters and narco terrorists.

“But the state government has proved completely incapable of dealing with it,” he added addressing mediapersons here.

The state BJP president also claimed that it was only his party that could bring the situation under control.

“The fact that even senior Congress leaders are now writing to the Centre seeking improvement in law and order clearly proves that they have accepted that the grave situation can only be corrected only by the BJP under the strong leadership of PM Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah,” he added.

Our immaturity achieved what others couldn’t: AAP

Reacting to the criticism, state AAP’s general secretary Baltej Pannu said his party’s government achieved in four years of rule what other parties couldn’t accomplish for decades.

“The government has increased the reach of canal water in Punjab from 21 per cent to 68 per cent areas. For years, experienced leaders made promises, but it is this government that delivered water to farmers’ fields,” he said. “In Punjab, the Sadak Surakhya Force has been constituted, and as a result, there has been a significant 48 per cent reduction in on-the-spot deaths caused by road accidents. This is not rhetoric, this is measurable change on the ground,” he added.

He alleged that other parties “pushed Punjab into a darker period” over the decades. “They weakened institutions, protected vested interests and reduced governance to personal gain,” he added.