Amritsar AAP legislator accuses own govt of failing to eradicate drug menace

Neeraj Bagga

Tribune New Service

Amritsar, June 9

A day after Ajay Gupta, AAP MLA from Amritsar Central constituency, accused the Bhagwant Mann-led state government for its failure to eradicate corruption and drug addiction from the state, Chief Minister Mann today spoke to him over phone to soothe his tempers.

Pacifying him, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann assured that all his suggestions for improving the function of the party and government would be carefully heard and to be discussed in a meeting which would be convened shortly.

Gupta, with over 30-year long professional experience in healthcare, vented out his anger during a party meeting held at a private resort here yesterday. Among others, it was attended by Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, who unsuccessfully contested from the Amritsar Lok Sabha seat, and Attari MLA Jaswinder Singh.

Couldn’t root out corruption

The Aam Aadmi Party came to power with the promises of change in governance. Government brutally failed on its major poll promises of eradicating corruption and drug addiction in the state. — Dr Ajay Gupta, AAP amritsar central MLA

“The AAP came to power with the promises of change in governance. Government brutally failed on its major poll promises of eradicating corruption and drug addiction in the state,” MLA Gupta alleged. On the other hand, he said these malpractices increased manifold for the past two years. Citing an example of his one businessman friend, he said for his personal work pertaining to a government department, he was told by its officials to pay Rs 1 lakh. The businessman approached an MLA to prevent it but eventually he ended up paying Rs 5 lakh in kickbacks.

The video of his speech immediately went viral on social media. SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal and Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring were quick to tweet it.

He said he would work only after the rehabilitation of the respect of the AAP volunteers in government offices, including police stations. He said AAP volunteers were humiliated in government offices as officials do not even offer them chairs to sit. He added that influence of Congress and SAD leaders continue to dominate police stations.

He categorically announced that he would not work until the Aam Aadmi Party leadership restores the pride of party volunteers in the government offices. There was a need to evaluate the reasons leading to the defeat of the party in the Lok Sabha elections, he said and added that the party had stormed to power on the promise of ‘badlav’ (change) in the last Assembly election (2022). Over two years later, the party lost credibility among people as it suffered defeat in 60 out of the 92 Assembly segments represented by its MLAs. He categorically warned that with the current style of working, the party would not win the 2027 Assembly election.

After the debacle in the Lok Sabha elections, the voices of dissent against the working style of the AAP leadership are growing. He is the second MLA after Kunwar Vijay Pratap to speak against the state leadership. Gupta said his raising of voice against his own government was public oriented and aimed at reforms in the party. He added that his demands should not be clubbed with any other leader.