Punjab govt mulling to amend Police Act to regularise DGP: SAD leader

Chandigarh, June 19 (IANS) Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia on Monday said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government was mulling to amend the Police Act to regularize its 'puppet' DGP to enhance political vendetta against opponents besides bringing in dictatorship in police functioning to the detriment of the common man.

Former minister Majithia told the media that it was shocking that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann wanted to bring in an amendment in the Police Act through the backdoor without any wider discussion over the issue in the Vidhan Sabha.

"This seeks not only to overturn the directives of the Apex Court vis-a-vis terms and conditions for appointment of the state DGP but is also against the norms of a healthy democracy."

He said the move was also against the AAP's stated policy. "Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has ferried his boss Arvind Kejriwal across the length and breadth of the country on the Punjab government aircraft acting as a tour operator to solely build a consensus among political parties to force the Centre to withdraw the ordinance which rests powers with the Lt Governor instead of the elected government as decided by the Apex Court," he said.

Asserting that the AAP government should not resort to double speak on the decisions taken by the Apex Court, Majithia said: "The directions of the Apex Court that only those officers who had more than six months of service left along with seniority be submitted to the Centre in a proper format of six members from which the Centre would prune the list to three for final selection by the state was being done away with to foist a puppet DGP on the state."

He said besides having an effect on administration of the law and order, the amendments in the Police Act would also create unrest in Punjab Police.

Majithia also called out the double speak of the Chief Minister on the sensitive issue of river waters. He said the Chief Minister was now following his boss Kejriwal and was in the process of selling off the river waters of the state for petty political gains in Rajasthan and Haryana.

Speaking about Sunday's incident in Sri Ganganagar, Majithia said: "The CM promised water to Rajasthan in the presence of AAP ally Hanuman Beniwal without even being asked for the same. Earlier the Chief Minister shared the stage with AAP Haryana president Sushil Gupta who announced that once AAP was elected to power in Haryana it would ensure SYL waters reached the fields of farmers of Haryana. Simultaneously, when in Punjab Bhagwant Mann claims that Punjab waters are for Punjabis and will not be given to anyone."