Sachin Pilot Says Law and Order Has Collapsed in Punjab, Targets AAP
Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Saturday accused Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of losing people’s trust and said law and order in the state had collapsed. He was speaking in Moga on the second day of a five-day Punjab visit during which he is meeting families of people killed in gang violence, with Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh accompanying him.
What Sachin Pilot Said in Moga
In Moga, Pilot met the family of Parminder Singh, a jeweller who was killed in the town in June 2023. “Bullets are openly fired daily in Barnala, Batala, or Moga, extortion is demanded,” he said, according to PTI. “People have lost trust in the AAP government,” he added, calling the situation “a complete collapse of law and order.”
Pilot said killings, encounters, extortion and ransom demands had become “extremely common” in Punjab, ANI reported, and that “the time has come to change the system.” He also criticised the BJP-led Centre over cross-border drug and arms smuggling and said Rahul Gandhi would visit Punjab soon.
A Wider Political Row Over Punjab
Pilot’s remarks come amid sharp exchanges over crime and drugs in Punjab. On Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said recent incidents had “raised serious questions about the law and order situation in Punjab”, and the Centre has sought reports from the state, as IPB News reported in its story on the MHA’s request after Parvinder Singh Jhota’s killing. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann responded by asking Shah to look at his own responsibilities, including border security.
On Friday, Pilot had met Jhota’s family in Mansa. The anti-drug activist was shot dead there on October 13. Punjab’s Assembly elections are due early next year, and leaders of the Congress, AAP and BJP have all spoken on law and order in recent days. The AAP government had not responded to Pilot’s latest remarks at the time of publication.
Why It Matters for Punjab’s Residents
Pilot’s focus on extortion and shootings in market areas speaks directly to shopkeepers, jewellers and small traders, whose safety affects local business. He said most accused in one case he raised were out on bail and that the victim’s family had not received justice or adequate help after three years.
As campaigning builds before the elections, the debate is likely to focus on policing, the drug trade and how quickly courts deliver justice. On Friday, Punjab’s government also won a High Court ruling on CM Mann’s France visit, another flashpoint with the Centre.
Based on reporting by ThePrint (PTI), Asianet Newsable, The Statesman and Nagaland Post (PTI).
Image: World Economic Forum / Wikimedia Commons.
