‘IntelGate Punjab’: Sunil Jakhar accuses Punjab CM of political espionage

BJP Punjab President Sunil Kumar Jakhar today sought the intervention of Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria while raising alarm over what he described as “a grave constitutional breach and institutional abuse” by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over the transfer of Punjab Police Intelligence chief RK Jaiswal.Jakhar accused the CM of misusing the state’s intelligence apparatus for “political espionage”, following the CM’s on-record statement in the Punjab Legislative Assembly where he declared: “Main sarkar vich haan, mere kol intelligence hai” (“I am in the government, and I have the intelligence”). Jakhar said this was not a stray remark, but a public admission of deploying the state intelligence network for surveillance on political rivals — a serious subversion of democratic norms and institutional propriety.He further pointed out that soon after this statement, the Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence), RK Jaiswal, was abruptly transferred. “This cannot be dismissed as coincidence,” Jakhar said. “Was he removed for refusing to comply with political directives? Was he resisting pressure to turn the intelligence wing into a private tool of the ruling party?”

Jakhar also cited the grenade attack on the residence of senior BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia in Jalandhar on the night of April 7–8, calling it a chilling reminder of how the diversion of intelligence resources toward political spying can weaken the state’s ability to prevent real threats.

In his letter, Jakhar urged the Governor to order a high-level judicial or independent inquiry into the “misuse” of intelligence and the removal of the ADGP. He also called for the Governor to refer the matter to the Central Government and national investigative agencies, stating that Punjab’s status as a sensitive border state makes this not just a state issue, but a matter of national security.

Jakhar described the situation as “IntelGate Punjab”, saying this was not an isolated lapse, but a dangerous and deliberate pattern of institutional capture for political ends.