Punjab govt failed to maintain law and order: Chugh on disruption of power supply

BJP general secretary Tarun Chugh on Saturday took exception to alleged forceful disruption of telecom services by protesting farmers in Punjab and said the Congress government has failed to maintain law and order in the state. He also said ''urban Naxal forces seem to be having a field day in Punjab".

"Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has completely failed to maintain law and order in the state,'' Chugh said in a statement here. The BJP leader also wondered if the chief minister "has connived with the Naxal forces to ensure the collapse of law and order'' and create an environment of fear and terror in the state. Amid reports that power supply to mobile towers was being disconnected by protesting farmers in different parts of the state, Singh had on Friday appealed to them to not inconvenience the general public with such actions.

He had urged them to exercise the same restraint that they had been showing over the past several months and said that telecom connectivity had become even more critical for people amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The farmers have been protesting against the Centre's new agri-marketing laws. Chugh alleged that the state had lately been witnessing frequent incidents like blocking of roads and rail traffic, disrupting the functioning of toll plazas and snapping of telecommunication lines "which indicate that disruptive forces have been at work and the state police have failed to control them".

"The frequent targeting of BJP offices and party leaders in violent attacks has added a serious dimension to the law and order situation in Punjab," he said. "In the name of farmers' agitation, Naxal forces have been let loose in the state,'' the BJP leader added. Chugh also urged farmer leaders to make sure that such disruptive elements did not defame the farmers' cause and paralyse public services.

"By not taking action against such elements, the chief minister seems to be pushing Punjab to become a state of the red corridor, which has become a serious threat to peace in Punjab. The situation here is getting similar to what is seen in pockets of Chattisgarh and Jharkhand where public properties are targeted by the Naxals," he said. The BJP general secretary also urged the Union home ministry to keep an eye on such developments in the northern state.