The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday tore into the BJP, Congress and Akali Dal for their attempt by the Opposition to exploit a tragic death for political gains, asserting that the bereaved family must be allowed to grieve with dignity and that politics over dead bodies cannot be permitted. The AAP asserted that the opposition parties in Punjab are indulging in an extremely insensitive “vulture politics”, as the traditional parties are rushing to politicalise every tragedy and even seeking to derive political mileage from a family’s grief.
In a video message,AAP Punjab State General Secretary Organisation and Media In-charge Baltej Pannu said, “Punjab’s Opposition parties are doing such dirty politics at present that it can be called the politics of vultures. Wherever someone has committed suicide or wherever a dead body is found, they reach there and try to bake their political bread over the funeral pyre.”
He questioned the Opposition’s record, saying that similar sensitivity was absent during previous governments when people lost their lives. “Who is doing this politics? During Captain Amarinder Singh’s government, a person running a paratha business committed suicide and named someone. No case was registered. Around 750 farmers died while demanding their rights at the borders of Delhi, but nobody’s conscience was stirred,” he said.
Baltej Pannu pointed out that in the present case, the Opposition had immediately moved to exploit the tragedy politically. “One person committed suicide and they immediately set out to do politics over his dead body. His last rites were performed with the consent of his family. Despite this, they are refusing to stop this politics,” he said.
Baltej Pannu said Punjab is a sensitive state and political parties, particularly those in the Opposition, were expected to show greater sensitivity in situations involving the death of a person and the grief of a family. “The politics of these traditional parties had once pushed Punjab into such a quagmire that it took the state a very long time to come out of it. Punjab is a sensitive state. At the very least, there should be sensitivity among those sitting in the Opposition. But they have no such sensitivity,” he said.
Baltej Pannu asserted, “The Punjab Government stands with every resident of Punjab and with his family. We do not indulge in this kind of politics, but one thing is certain: we will not allow this kind of politics to be done.”
Meanwhile, AAP National Media In-charge Anurag Dhanda said, “The BJP, Congress and Akali Dal have become extremely desperate in Punjab. The way the Aam Aadmi Party government is promoting sports and working to control drugs in Punjab has left them rattled. Controlling drugs is a long process, but the manner in which the Aam Aadmi Party government is working has made them frustrated. Therefore, whenever they have nothing else to say, they start making absurd allegations.”
He said, “If a person comes before a minister and raises his problem, it shows that he has faith in that government. That is why he brings his problem before the minister. As soon as the problem was raised, all the people whose names were mentioned by the family were taken into police custody. All of them have been arrested.”
Anurag Dhanda questioned the Opposition over the circumstances surrounding the videos released by the deceased person. “Has your politics become so dirty that you will play with a person’s life simply because you want to do politics? The first video released by that person after the incident does not mention the name of any of our ministers anywhere. People can listen to that video themselves,” he said.
He further raised questions about the circumstances in which another video was recorded after the person had consumed poison. “When that person consumed poison, pressure was put on him to record another video, telling him that he would not be taken to hospital until he named the minister. So who killed him?” Anurag Dhanda asked, while demanding that the circumstances surrounding the episode be investigated.
He said those attempting to use the tragedy for political purposes should themselves come under scrutiny. “Those who are holding press conferences today and raising their voices over this issue have killed him merely to further their politics. This too needs to be investigated. It must be investigated who that person was,” he said.
The AAP National Media In-charge added that immediately after consuming sulphas, the person had released a video giving his statement and that everyone named by him had subsequently been taken into police custody. “After that, instead of stopping him on the way and taking him to hospital, you made him record a video. Is this not politics over dead bodies?” he asked.
Anurag Dhanda asked, “Have the BJP, Congress and Akali Dal fallen so low that they will now do politics over dead bodies? Do people’s lives have no value for them? Is politics the only thing that matters to them?”
On the Punjab Government’s action on drugs, Anurag Dhanda made it clear that political affiliation would not protect anyone involved in drug trafficking. “Whether a drug trafficker is close to the BJP, Congress or Akali Dal, the Bhagwant Mann government will not spare a single drug trafficker under any circumstances. Thousands of drug traffickers have been arrested and sent to jail. They will serve their sentences. Whoever is named in the future will also be dealt with. We are not like them,” he said.
Anurag Dhanda also attacked the previous BJP-Akali government over its record on drugs and alleged that political patronage had allowed the drug trade to flourish in Punjab. “There used to be an Akali Dal and BJP government in Punjab. What did they do? Whenever the name of a drug mafia came before them, they would settle their ‘hafta’ with them. They would take their share, while those people openly sold drugs. Ask them how many people they sent to jail for drug trafficking at that time,” he said.
He further pointed out that drug trafficking had extended to the vehicles of ministers during that period. “Drugs were transported in the vehicles of their ministers. This is on record. Their ministers themselves used their vehicles to traffic drugs. Ask them where those people are today. Ask whether those who were ministers at that time are still in their party. And this is the same Akali Dal and BJP that are forming an alliance through the backdoor,” Anurag Dhanda said.
He said the Opposition was seeking to revive the period between 2007 and 2017, which he described as a dark phase for Punjab. “Why? Because they want to bring back that dark period from 2007 to 2017, when drug traffickers had a free run in Punjab and people kept dying. That government is no longer there,” he said.
Anurag Dhanda reiterated that the Bhagwant Mann Government would continue its campaign against drugs without making any distinction based on political connections. “Whenever we receive information about any drug trafficker, we will not spare a single person. Whether they have the backing of the Congress, the BJP or senior Akali leaders, no drug trafficker will be allowed to escape,” he said.
