Punjab News:Why Did Ravneet Singh Bittu, Partap Bajwa & Bikram Majithia Rush To Defend Drug Peddler? AAP

Nine Cases Registered Against Him Since 2018, Including NDPS, Excise And Rape Case; Convictions In 4 Cases: Aman Arora

Previous Akali Dal, Congress & BJP Govts Protected Drug Peddlers In Exchange For Money, Ruined Punjab’s Youth: AAP

Bhagwant Mann Govt Has Broken Nexus Of Drug Peddlers & Political Protection Built By Previous Govts: AAP

Previous Govts Protected Drug Peddlers For Money, Now Their Supply Lines & Money Flow Are Being Cut: AAP

Punjab’s Youth Were Pushed Into Drugs Under Previous Govts, Now Drug Peddlers Are Panicking As Bhagwant Mann Govt Cracks Down: AAP

Those Who Failed To Stop Drugs Are Now Having Problems With Punjab’s ‘Yudh Nashean Virudh’: Aman Arora

Namol Village Had Taken Collective Resolution To Not Allow Drug Sales; Two Panchayats, Gurdwara Committees, Farmers’ Organisations & Villagers United: Aman Arora

Opposition Leaders Must Come To Namol & Repeat Their Claims On Ground If They Stand By Their Tweets: Aman Arora

Whose Side Is Opposition On? Villagers Standing United Against Drug Menace Or Alleged Drug Dealer: Harpal Singh Cheema

Villagers Passed Joint Resolution To Boycott Drug Sellers, Conduct Thikri Pehra & Back Bhagwant Mann Govt’s Yudh Nashean Virudh: Ravjot Singh

Instead Of Doing Politics Over Dead Body, Opposition Parties Need To Understand & Listen To Ground Reality: Hardeep Singh Mundian

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday questioned why opposition leaders Ravneet Singh Bittu, Partap Bajwa and Bikram Majithia are rushing to defend a person facing nine cases since 2018, including NDPS National Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act, Excise and rape cases, with convictions in four cases, while the opposition remained silent on the ground reality of Namol, where two panchayats, gurdwara committees, farmers’ organisations and villagers have united against drug sales.

The AAP said the previous Akali Dal, Congress and BJP governments had protected drug peddlers in exchange for money and pushed Punjab’s youth into drugs, while the Bhagwant Mann Government has broken that political protection nexus and disrupted the supply lines and money flow of drug peddlers through its Yudh Nashean Virudh. The party affirmed the opposition’s reaction reflected its discomfort with the crackdown and challenged its leaders to come to Namol and repeat their claims on the ground, instead of doing politics over a dead body.

Addressing a press conference, AAP Punjab President and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora said, “Over the past 10-12 days, you must have seen, and your channels must also have shown, the kind of incidents that have taken place in the villages of Punjab, particularly in our district, and the kind of political controversy that has emerged around drugs.”

The AAP Punjab President affirmed, “We fully agree that whenever a person loses their life, it is not only a loss for that individual’s house or family, but a loss for the entire society, and even more than that. But when people from political parties, political leaders, disregard the truth and engage in low-level politics merely to serve their own political interests, then society also suffers, Punjab also suffers and Punjab’s name also gets defamed. This is exactly what we are seeing.”

Referring to the Namol incident, he said, “You must have noticed that yesterday, in Sangrur district itself, a young man from Namol village, Jagga Singh, consumed some poisonous substance outside the DC (District Commissioner) office and was subsequently hospitalised. But look at the kind of dirty politics that has been taking place from yesterday evening until today. This is the latest example of how an incident is being used merely to defame the Punjab Government and the Aam Aadmi Party.”

Aman Arora said, “This village of Namol is in my constituency of Sunam and is situated close to Sunam. There is one village, but there are two panchayats here. Both panchayats, the entire village, all the gurdwara committees and all the farmers’ organisations came together and took a decision that drugs would not be allowed to be sold in the village. Everyone decided that we have to show courage collectively and work together on this issue.”

“Both panchayats jointly passed a resolution that they would not allow drugs to be sold in the village. This was a collective decision of the entire village, the panchayats, the gurdwara committees and the farmers’ organisations,” he said.

Explaining the events of September 7, the Minister said, “On the 7th, the panchayat members and the sarpanch were sitting together. As I have been informed, Jagga Singh came there and said, ‘Search me.’ They told him, ‘Brother, go ahead. There is no need to search you. The entire village already knows.’ After going a short distance, he abused them using extremely objectionable language concerning their mothers and sisters. There was then a minor altercation between the two sides.”

“Complaints were subsequently filed by both sides, by Jagga Singh as well as by the panchayat, at Cheema police station. That matter is currently under investigation,” he said.

Referring to the events of September 12, Aman Arora noted, “On the 12th, he came holding a bottle and threatened that if action was not taken on his complaint against the sarpanch and the panchayat, he would commit suicide and they would be responsible. Putting pressure on someone in this manner is itself a way of pressurising them.”

“A sarpanch is an elected representative. To pressure an elected representative by saying that you will commit suicide and that their name will be mentioned is, in my view, not justified,” he said.