In what has triggered an enormous political controversy, the Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday directed the police chief to register instances underneath the Disaster Management Act towards Opposition leaders and staff who’ve been staging dharnas within the State over the previous few days.
The Opposition has criticised the order, claiming it was meant to ‘gag’ those that have been exposing the failures of the State authorities.
The CM assertion mentioned that the dharnas by Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have been ‘irresponsible’ acts and in violation of the strict curbs in place within the State due to the pandemic unfold. “At a time when people could not gather even for weddings and funerals, leaders and workers of these parties were behaving in a reckless manner, showing no concern for the safety and health of Punjabis,’’ alleged the Chief Minister, adding that such behaviour could not be allowed or tolerated.
Pointing out that the AAP dharna yesterday was in fact in violation of the weekend curfew in place, Captain Amarinder said such dharnas and political gatherings were potential super-spreaders and had to be firmly tackled. The law should take its course, he told the DGP, adding that political leaders had a big responsibility towards the society, which these parties had shunned, thus jeopardising the lives of Punjab’s people.
But the Opposition has reacted sharply to the decision. AAP MLA Kultar Singh Sidhwan alleged that the move was aimed at gagging the Opposition. “The Opposition has been raising the scams by the Captain-led government that is why they want them to be silenced. But we will continue to raise our voice, stage dharna, he can continue to arrest us, hang us or punish any other way he chooses to,” Sidhwan informed News18.com.
Importantly, the order comes at a time when farmers throughout the State have been holding dharnas to protest towards the farm legal guidelines. Farmers in large numbers have even been taking out protest rallies in some elements even because the administration has performed little to dissuade them from doing so given the elevated variety of Covid instances.
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