Akalis accuse Punjab CM Channi of complicity with BJP

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 11

Amid pandemonium, the Punjab Vidhan Sabha today unanimously passed a resolution rejecting the Ministry of Home Affairs notification extending the jurisdiction of the BSF from 15 km to 50 km.

The House urged the state government to take up the matter with the Centre and get the notification withdrawn. As Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa moved the resolution and the Opposition benches took on CM Charanjit Singh Channi for his complicity in issuing of the notification.

Can’t differentiate

People playing up jurisdiction issue can’t differentiate between law & order and national security. —Capt Amarinder Singh, Former CM

Cong pleasing isi

The Congress seems to be pleasing its mentors in the ISI by passing such anti-national resolutions. —Tarun Chugh, BJP Gen Secy

SAD leader Bikram Majithia pointed out that the Congress was divided on the issue as MP Manish Tewari’s tweets showed that he supported the notification and former PCC chief Sunil Jakhar had questioned Channi over the outcome of his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

SAD (Sankuyt) leader Parminder Dhindsa and AAP Leader of Opposition Harpal Cheema questioned the timing of the notification after Channi met Shah.

Majithia asked the Cabinet to decide that it would not allow the BSF to interfere in the functioning of the Punjab Police. Just before the resolution was brought in, two BJP MLAs — Arun Narang and Dinesh Babbu — left the House. While moving the resolution, Randhawa said they would move the High Court and the Supreme Court over the notification.

Majithia hit out at the treasury benches over the “double standards” of the Congress government on the deployment of the BSF. He said on the one hand, the Home Minister was deploying BSF in jails and on the other he was opposing the increase in its jurisdiction along the border.