CHANDIGARH-Aam Aadmi Party Punjab’s Media Incharge Baltej Pannu on Tuesday responded to the statement of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal regarding declaring gangsters and drug smugglers as terrorists, stating that those who themselves spread gangsterism and the poison of ‘chitta’ in Punjab are now speaking about a clean-up campaign, which reflects sheer hypocrisy.
AAP Punjab State Media Incharge Baltej Pannu said that Sukhbir Singh Badal is today announcing that if his government is formed, in the very first Cabinet meeting they will bring a strict law against gangsters and drug traffickers and declare them terrorists. Responding to this, Baltej Pannu said, “Sukhbir ji, first tell us who brought the gangsters, who brought chitta?”
Recalling the period before the Akali-BJP government was formed in 2007, the AAP Punjab State Media Incharge noted, “Before 2007, neither did anyone know about gangsters in Punjab, nor had anyone heard the name of ‘chitta’.” He further questioned, “Those involved in chitta whose links with gangsters flourished during the Badal government’s tenure, does Sukhbir Singh Badal have the courage to declare them terrorists as well?”
Taking a sharp dig, Baltej Pannu remarked, “Sukhbir Singh Badal’s statement is exactly like the Taliban saying, ‘Let’s take out a candle march for peace’.” He added that during the ten years from 2007 to 2017, the Badal government pushed Punjab into the quagmire of drugs and patronized gangsterism, and said, “Punjabis have not forgotten that dark period.”
Contrasting this with the present situation, Baltej Pannu said that under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, the AAP government is truly fighting a war against drugs and tightening the noose around gangsters. He stated, “To fight such a war, one needs willpower. The Badal government never had it. That is why they pushed Punjab toward devastation.”