Mann praises police as Oppn targets govt
The CM said he did not want any bloodshed during the operation and hailed the state police for their “utmost restraint”.
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday said that those who disturb peace and harmony in the state will face the law as he commended the state police over the arrest of fugitive separatist leader Amritpal Singh.
In a video message hours after Amritpal’s arrest, Mann said that his government doesn’t practise “vendetta politics” and will not take action against “the innocent”.
“Today Amritpal Singh has been arrested. Those who will try to disturb peace and harmony and break the law of the country will face action as per law. We will not trouble any innocent person,” he said.
The CM said he did not want any bloodshed during the operation and hailed the state police for their “utmost restraint”.
“I did not sleep the whole night and I was in regular touch with senior officials over the phone every 15 minutes, half an hour to get information. I wanted that the entire thing [operation to arrest Amritpal] should be done in a peaceful manner,” Mann said. He added that police might have arrested Amritpal on March 18, when the crackdown began, but “ bullets would have been fired… We did not want any bloodshed”.
AAP national convener and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal welcomed the arrest and said: “AAP is committed to maintaining peace and security in Punjab; we won’t hesitate in taking tough decisions.”
The Opposition, however, targeted the state government over the operation, with former CM and Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi calling it a “drama”.
“For the past month and a half, Punjab Police were cordoning off village after village to arrest Amritpal. On Sunday, Amritpal surrendered before police. Punjab government created the whole drama of arresting him from Rode village but the reality is completely opposite,” said Channi.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) spokesperson Daljit Singh Cheema said the AAP government “defamed the Sikh community” by its handling of the situation.
“…It is incumbent upon on the AAP government to explain why it had created a fear psychosis on this issue. The actions of the AAP government till now have only served to defame the Sikh community, besides communal tensions have also been deliberately inflamed,” he said in a statement.
Congress leader Randeep Surjewala took on both the state and central government, saying that many questions still remained unanswered.
“...Who helped Amritpal escape in the first instance?... Where was Amritpal hiding? Who gave him shelter?... Why aren’t the Punjab police, CBI, and IB disclosing it,” he said.