Pre-dawn operations by Punjab police towards newspaper supply vans in a number of cities final week renewed accusations towards the Aam Aadmi Social gathering authorities, which has been crushing opposition.
A day earlier than newspapers together with The Indian Categorical have been unable to be distributed on time within the Punjab capital, that they had reported on the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering’s declare that AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal had acquired ‘Sheesh Mahal 2.0’ for himself in Chandigarh.
One of many Bharatiya Janata Social gathering’s primary strains of assault towards Kejriwal through the Delhi Meeting elections earlier this yr was that he had turned the Delhi Chief Minister’s official residence right into a lavish ‘Sheesh Mahal’. On account of the polls, AAP was defeated and the BJP returned to energy in Delhi for the primary time in almost 30 years.
Particular DGP (Legislation and Order) Arpit Shukla mentioned police stopped the newspaper supply van on October 31 following a tip-off that the van is perhaps getting used to smuggle medication and ammunition and the border state of Punjab wanted to be on alert. The van was subsequently launched however distribution was suspended in all Chandigarh districts besides Mohali.
AICC secretary Palghat Singh mentioned the Bhagwant Singh Mann authorities was making an attempt to “cease” information from reaching the individuals about Kejriwal, who lives in a authorities bungalow in Chandigarh. Kejriwal has been spending a very long time in Punjab after dropping energy in Delhi.
Opposition Chief in Parliament Partap Singh Bajwa mentioned the “assault” on the newspaper supply van was “an appalling assault on press freedom”. “Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann are on the identical path as Mr. Modi. They each do not imagine in democracy or the structure that defines India.”
A day earlier, the BJP had described the Sector 2 bungalow the place Kejriwal lived throughout his keep in Chandigarh as a “seven-star” institution and a “Sheesh Mahal 2.0”. AAP denied the costs, saying the bungalow was merely a “camp workplace”.
Days earlier than the controversy, in an eyebrow-raising transfer, the Mann authorities transferred Ajoy Sinha, principal secretary within the energy ministry and CMD of Punjab State Electrical energy Company and Punjab State Transmission Company. Mr. Sinha has not been given any submit but, however he’s an IAS officer who joined the corporate in 1996 and has a popularity for independence.
“Mr. Sinha was not a confrontational particular person, however he advocated due course of and transparency,” mentioned a senior official who labored with him. In keeping with this particular person, the switch had a transparent chilling impact. “The message was clear: fall in line or drop out,” mentioned a senior IAS officer on situation of anonymity.
In September, AAP Sanur MLA Harmit Singh Pathan Majra was booked by the Punjab Police on fees of rape, fraud and legal intimidation in a three-year-old case. Though he was arrested, he managed to flee and stays at massive regardless of being sought by the state’s anti-gang job power.
Pathan Majula’s arrest got here a day after he attacked the AAP authorities’s response to flood aid in Punjab. He accused the federal government of inefficiency and mentioned the forms doesn’t enable it to carry out. He additionally alleged that AAP’s Delhi management had “interfered” in Punjab’s affairs, a cost made by others earlier than him.
Previous to Pathan Majra, AAP Jalandhar (Central) MLA Raman Arora was booked and arrested on Could 23 on fees of colluding with authorities officers to defraud people. On the time of his arrest, there have been experiences that Mr. Arora was near the Bharatiya Janata Social gathering.
In late June, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, a former IPS officer and Amritsar (north) MLA, was suspended from the AAP for 5 years after he publicly questioned the Man authorities’s dealing with of the illicit property case towards arrested senior Akali Dal chief Bikram Singh Majithia. He additionally accused the Mann administration of failing to make any progress within the decade-long Bargari desecration case.
In March, Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, a 2001 IAS officer, was eliminated as residence minister and 7 months later, no fees have been filed towards him. The motion towards Gurkirat, who additionally served as Mines and Geology Secretary, Meals and Medication Secretary and Gurdwara Elections Secretary, got here quickly after Gurkirat attended the marriage of the daughter of Akali Dal chief and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal.
After his dismissal, allegations have been raised that there was stress on Gurkirat to delete elements of the sand mining file.
A month later, IPS officer Varinder Kumar was eliminated because the vigilance chief and was not given any submit. Mr. Kumar was then appointed as Particular DGP (Human Rights) till his retirement on July 31. As a vigilante chief, Kumar dealt with a number of high-profile instances involving former Congress ministers, together with Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Sundar Shyam Arora.
AAP spokesperson Neil Garg mentioned there was no reality to the accusation that the social gathering used official equipment to suppress dissent. “We’re a democratic social gathering. We observe the principles of democracy in letter and spirit. We’ve got not completed something that may very well be questioned,” Garg mentioned.
