Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for concluding the Punjab Assembly session in just nine minutes on its opening day.He alleged that instead of answering questions on crucial issues, including the murder of Parvinder Singh Jhota, the government chose to evade accountability and run away from the Assembly.Pargat Singh described the conclusion of the Assembly session as a waste of public money, claiming a day’s sitting cost Rs 1 crore. He also targeted Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over the law and order situation in Punjab and demanded his resignation.Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa also reiterated the demand for the Chief Minister’s resignation, alleging that the AAP government had lost the faith of the masses.Bajwa cited repeated incidents of killings of anti-drug activists. Both leaders also targeted the AAP and the BJP for failing to check the abuse of synthetic drugs in the state.Taking a swipe at the AAP government, Pargat Singh alleged that “those who had been running Punjab from Delhi had now politically distanced themselves from the situation, but they could not escape responsibility for the damage caused to the state.”Referring to Jhota’s murder, Pargat Singh said six shops were shut down in an enforcement action on the day of the killing and demanded accountability from the Health Minister. He also questioned how the accused was issued a firearm licence despite facing five serious criminal cases.Reacting to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s visit to Punjab, Pargat Singh said visits and political rhetoric alone would not resolve the state’s problems. He asked the Centre to spell out the concrete steps taken to curb the drug trade and safeguard Punjab’s interests.


