Said, Aam Aadmi Party Will Not Bow to Intimidation
On Bajwa’s Online Complaint, BJP-Controlled Police Filed FIR Against AAP Leaders Within 24 Hours
From a Gujarat Jail, Bishnoi Orchestrates Fear Across India; BJP Using It for Political Gains: Cheema
Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh-
In a press conference on Saturday, Punjab Finance Minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Harpal Singh Cheema launched a blistering attack on the Congress and BJP, alleging that both parties are working in coordination to protect drug traffickers and gangsters while attempting to stifle the AAP's war against drugs through false FIRs and political pressure.
The AAP minister said that Congress and BJP leaders are now conspiring to silence AAP by filing false FIRs. “We announced the Assembly session for two days, unnerved, Congress leader of opposition Partap Bajwa rushed to Chandigarh police and submitted an online complaint. In just 24 hours, an FIR was registered against me and AAP Punjab President Aman Arora,” he revealed.
Cheema accused the Chandigarh Police, governed by the BJP-led Centre and a BJP-nominated Governor, of acting with lightning speed to file politically motivated FIRs, while thousands of genuine complaints remain pending. He cited official data from the Chandigarh Police affidavit submitted in court: as of May 15, 2024, 7,067 complaints were pending, many involving cybercrime, fraud, and theft.
“This shows how Congress and BJP are colluding to frame AAP leaders while ignoring real criminals. But we are not afraid. We are ready to face legal consequences under the law, but we will never stop speaking the truth,” said Cheema.
Cheema recounted how AAP first contested Punjab elections in 2017, when key issues included drug addiction, unemployment, and agricultural distress. The drug problem was the most pressing concern, he said, and even Congress’s national president Rahul Gandhi said at the time that 70% of Punjab’s youth were trapped in drugs due to the Akali-BJP nexus.
“In 2017, Congress promised to eradicate drugs in four weeks, with their CM swearing on a holy Gutka Sahib at a rally near Talwandi Sabo. But five years passed and Congress did nothing,” said Cheema. He pointed out that when elections came again in 2022, the people of Punjab placed their trust in AAP, giving it a historic mandate and making Bhagwant Mann the Chief Minister.
Cheema asserted that the AAP government has been running a relentless campaign against drugs for the past three and a half years, which in the last three months has transformed into an all-out war, 'Yudh Nasheyan Virudh'. “We are not sparing anyone. Illegally constructed properties are being demolished, and culprits are being arrested and jailed. A cabinet sub-committee was formed, with me as its chair, and we visited police stations across Punjab,” he said.
He highlighted that AAP implemented anti-drone systems to counter cross-border smuggling of narcotics and added that whenever action is taken, Congress, BJP, and Akali leaders start questioning demolitions and defending drug peddlers, thereby exposing their past complicity.
Quoting former Congress CM Charanjit Channi, Cheema said, “Channi once equated drugs with Akali leader Bikram Majithia, saying if someone talks about ‘chitta’ (heroin), people respond by saying Majithia has arrived.” He added that Navjot Sidhu, Sukhpal Khaira, and Partap Bajwa were also vocal on this issue, with Bajwa even declaring that those responsible should be dragged with ropes around their necks.
“But today, the same Congress leaders are shedding tears for Majithia. They’re holding press conferences and releasing videos defending him. People are watching and saying, now the truth is out: one was a 'chitta chor', the other a 'neela chor'—and together they looted Punjab,” said Cheema.
Cheema also referred to the recent murder of a cloth merchant in Abohar, for which gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, currently lodged in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail, has claimed responsibility. “That jail is under the BJP government’s control. Why is it that calls are being made from Gujarat to threaten businessmen across India? A major racket is being run from Gujarat jails to terrorize traders and push them toward the BJP,” he alleged.
The minister warned that the AAP government will continue to expose and dismantle gangsterism and the drug mafia. “Congress and BJP are united to save criminals, but we are united with the people of Punjab. AAP will not retreat. We will continue to fight for truth, justice, and the future of Punjab,” Cheema declared.