The arrest of Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira, on Thursday, by Punjab Police under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act stirred a war of words between the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party and opposition Congress in the state.
Also Read: Punjab Police Detains Congress' Sukhpal Singh Khaira In NDPS Case
Congress -an AAP ally in I.N.D.I.A alliance in the centre- labelled the arrest as a sheer political vendetta and called out Chief Minister of the state Bhagwant Mann alleging that the CM has resorted to the persecution of opposition. Commenting on the arrest Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring lashed out at the state government and said that Punjab has entered the 'Jungle Raj'. He further claimed that Mr Sukhpal was innocent and the Supreme Court had already stayed his arrest in the case.
"I condemn this arrest. This is Jungle Raj. Congress President Kharge called me in the morning and asked us to fight for Khaira. His family has said that anything can happen to him," said Warring to ANI on Thursday.
Warring also took to X (formerly Twitter) to allege that this arrest was an attempt to intimidate the opposition.
"The recent arrest of INC Punjab MLA Sukhpal Khaira ji smacks of Political Vendetta, it is an attempt to intimidate the opposition and is a ploy of the AAP Punjab govt to distract from core issues. We stand strongly with Sukhpal Khaira and will take this fight to its logical conclusion," posted Amarinder Singh on his X account.
The film-style raid on the residence of Khaira by senior officers of Punjab police in the wee hours of Thursday and subsequent arrest also garnered flak from other opposition parties in the state.
Bharatiya Janata Party while taking a jibe at the fissures in the I.N.D.I.A alliance hit out at the AAP government by calling the arrest 'illegal' and a 'blatant misuse of power' by the state government.
#WATCH | On Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira detained by Police, BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa says, " I remember a statement by Arvind Kejriwal where he said, 'give me Police and see what I will be doing', so that he what is being done. If someone is accused of something,… pic.twitter.com/3wpA1ZRZfe
— ANI (@ANI) September 28, 2023
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa condemned the arrest in his statement given to ANI, he said, "I remember a statement by Arvind Kejriwal where he said, 'give me Police and see what I will be doing' so that he knows what is being done. If someone is accused of something, he must be summoned first and make him join the investigation and if he doesn't answer then arrest him. Punjab Police is being misused. Action is being taken against opposition leaders because they are speaking against the government."
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) also criticised the detention of the MLA by calling him a scapegoat in alliance's pressure politics. "He (Sukhpal Singh Khaira) has been made a scapegoat. The reality is that these parties who are allying (INDIA alliance) are doing pressure politics. They are unable to come to any agreement," says BSP MP Malook Nagar on the arrest of Khaira in connection with a 2015 drugs case.