Former Punjab BJP president Jattvibeil Jakhar on Thursday urged Governor Gulab Chand Kataria to recommend to the Election Commission the early implementation of the model code of conduct in the state, alleging that the Bhagwant Mann government had itself conceded that law and order had deteriorated.In a letter to the Governor, Jakhar said the state government had denied permission to hold an anti-drug marathon in Abohar, citing an “unsuitable atmosphere and poor law and order situation”. The event was to be organised on November 1.”I request your immediate intervention… so that the forthcoming Assembly elections can be conducted peacefully and fairly, and people can exercise their right to vote without fear or intimidation,” he wrote. He said the marathon, organised by the Jakhar Trust run by his family, had been drawing thousands of young participants every year.Jakhar also attached a copy of the administration’s reply to his representation for the marathon. “Though I am opposed to this government and its policies, I agree with this admission of the bitter truth (on law and order) by the government for the first time,” he wrote.The BJP leader alleged that no one was safe in the state and that those raising their voice against the drug menace were being silenced with bullets. He cited Amritsar, Tarn Taran, Khemkaran, Gurdaspur, Hargobindpur, Mansa, Abohar, Sangrur and Ludhiana among places where “people were being killed openly”. He further alleged that the police were forcibly taking away the bodies of youths who had died due to drug abuse and that those protesting against the menace either “faced police repression or were driven to suicide”.Jakhar blamed the situation on a “deliberate policy of the Aam Aadmi Party government”. He also referred to a statement by senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia that the party would “use every means to win elections”.He claimed the government had appointed pliant officers in key positions while gangsters were being inducted into the party or enjoying its protection. He alleged that the Chief Minister’s Office had become a hub of corruption.Jakhar also alleged that drug and arms trafficking networks were being operated from prisons, and that smugglers and murder accused were being granted parole and helped to flee abroad. He further claimed that cases of sexual assault against women were being suppressed through transactions involving crores of rupees, with the accused allegedly facilitated in leaving the country.He 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.