Former Punjab BJP president Jattvibeil Jakhar has asked the Governor to recommend that the Election Commission impose early Model Code of Conduct in the state at the earliest, saying the Bhagwant Mann government has itself conceded that law and order has deteriorated.In a letter to the Governor, Jakhar pointed to the administration’s refusal to permit the annual anti-drug marathon in Abohar. He said the written denial cited an unsuitable atmosphere and the poor law-and-order situation.The marathon has been held in Abohar for years and draws thousands of young people. Jakhar attached a copy of the administration’s letter to his representation.“Although I am opposed to this government and its policies, I agree with this admission of the bitter truth by the government for the first time,” Jakhar wrote. He said no one is safe in the state and that voices raised against drugs are being silenced with bullets.He listed Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Khemkaran, Gurdaspur, Hargobindpur, Mansa, Abohar, Sangrur and Ludhiana among the places where, he claimed, people are being killed openly. He also alleged that police are forcibly taking away the bodies of children who had died of drugs from their families, and that those protesting against drugs faced police repression or were driven to suicide.Jakhar blamed the situation on what he called a deliberate policy of the Aam Aadmi Party government. He cited a statement by senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia that the party would use every means to win election. Jakhar claimed the government had appointed pliant officers while gangsters were being inducted into the party or given protection. He alleged that the Chief Minister’s Office had become a hub of corruption.He also alleged that drug and arms trafficking were being run from prisons, and that smugglers and murderers were being released on parole and helped to flee abroad. He claimed that transactions worth crores were being used to suppress cases of sexual assault against women, with the accused being helped to leave the country.Jakhar alleged that the chief minister’s family had been named in one such case involving Rs 5 crore and that the government had not got it investigated despite the high court orders.Such an atmosphere, he said, would make free, fair and peaceful elections impossible in a border state. By the time the Assembly elections were due, he claimed, the government would have created such fear that citizens would be unable to vote without intimidation. Allowing the government more time would amount to permitting further violation of people’s fundamental and human rights, he added.