DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday slammed the Congress and the BJP, alleging both parties are working in coordination to protect drug traffickers and gangsters while attempting to stifle the AAP's war against drugs through false first information reports (FIRs) and political pressure.

The AAP minister said the Congress and BJP leaders are now "conspiring" to silence AAP by filing false FIRs.

"We announced the Assembly session for two days, unnerved, the Congress Leader of Opposition Partap Bajwa rushed to the Chandigarh Police and submitted an online complaint. In just 24 hours, an FIR was registered against me and AAP Punjab President Aman Arora," he told the media here.

Cheema accused 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 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 the Congress and the 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.

He 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 the then Congress president Rahul Gandhi said that 70 per cent 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 Chief Minister swearing on a holy Gutka Sahib at a rally near Talwandi Sabo. But five years passed, and the Congress did nothing," said Cheema.

Cheema 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.

He asserted 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 through the drive 'Yudh Nasheyan Virudh'.

"We are not sparing anyone. Illegally constructed properties are being demolished, and culprits are being arrested and jailed. A cabinet subcommittee was formed, with me as its chair, and we visited police stations across Punjab," he added.

(editor@dailyworld.in)