Punjab Chief Minister slams BJP for ‘exploiting’ Governor’s office in states where it’s in opposition

CHANDIGARH, Punjab—Enraged over Punjab Governor VP Badnore summoning top brass of the state on law and order situation, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday lambasted the BJP Punjab leadership over its sordid attempts to lower the prestige of the high gubernatorial office by pulling the Constitutional authority into unsavory controversies in states where it is in the Opposition in what can only be construed as a bid to get rid of democratically elected governments there.

Reacting sharply to the BJP state unit’s tweet accusing him of trying to make Punjab into another West Bengal, the Chief Minister said, “It is the power-hungry BJP which has been trying to use the office of the Governor for its own vested interests. It has been happening in West Bengal, it happened in Maharashtra, and now they are trying to do the same in Punjab.”

“The BJP, which has been systemically trampling all democratic and Constitutional institutions, has not spared even the office of Governor”, said the Chief Minister, adding that “these actions do not behoove a party that is the custodian of these institutions as the ruling party at the Centre.”

Captain Amarinder quipped that the BJP, despite being a national party, seemed totally ignorant about the Constitutional provisions, according to which the Governor was the titular head of the state but all administration authority vested with the chief minister. “Don’t these BJP leaders know that the law and order responsibility of my state lies with me not only as chief minister but also as the home minister?,” he asked, urging the BJP leaders of Punjab to first learn the ABCs of the Indian Constitution before shooting their mouth on  Constitutional matters.

Describing as shocking the BJP’s repeated attempts at “politicisation of the farmers’ agitation”, the Chief Minister said the party was shamelessly exploiting the situation and spreading a carnage of lies for furthering its political interests. This, he said, was evident in their bid to project the farmers’ genuine anger as a law and order situation in Punjab. 

Incidents of BJP leaders facing the wrath of farmers have been reported from the BJP-ruled Haryana, and even UP, he pointed out, adding that by the same yardstick those should also be construed as a case of collapse of law and order in those states. “And if the incidents of farmers venting their anger at BJP leaders in Punjab are at the behest of the ruling Congress here, as they are alleging, then by the same logic, the ruling BJP in Haryana and UP is to blame for the trouble there,” he added.

It was sad that at a time when farmers were dying every day in the bitter winter cold while sitting in protest at Delhi borders for the past nearly 40 days, the BJP was busy indulging in cheap politics, said Captain Amarinder. The BJP would gain more political mileage by responding to the woes of the farmers and heeding their voice instead of resorting to political theatrics and lies, he said, adding that it was high time the ruling party at the Centre stopped playing with the lives of the farmers and repealed the black Farm Laws. 

“The entire nation can feel the pain of the farmers except the party which heads the country,” said Captain Amarinder, urging the BJP-led central government to climb down from its exalted ego and bring the farming crisis to an end before it gets completely out of hand and brings India to ruination.