• Source:ANI
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Amid the ongoing tussle between Punjab Governor and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Banwarilal Purohit sent a strongly-worded letter to the CM, warning him that he would write to President Droupadi Murmu and impose President’s rule in the state and will initiate criminal proceedings if his letters are not answered.

In his latest communication to Punjab CM, Governor Purohit reiterated that he had received no response from Mann on his previous letters, and further warned that he could send a report to the President on the ‘failure of constitutional mechanism’.

“I am pained to point out that there is reason to believe that there is failure of the constitutional machinery in the state," the Punjab Governor mentioned in his recent letter to Mann, as quoted by news agency ANI.

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He further directed the chief minister to take action before he takes a ‘final decision’ under article 356 of the Constitution, and Section 124 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

With the invocation of Article 356, a state is brought under the direct rule of the centre, usually after a report is sent by the Governor.

In his letters, the Punjab Governor raised questions regarding drug trafficking in the border state and also asked about the action taken by the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government in this regard.

Governor Purohit in his letter mentioned that he has received reports from various agencies about the availability and use of narcotics, and their alleged presence in pharmacies and even in government-controlled liquor stores, as reported by ANI.

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The Punjab Governor also quoted a recent report by the parliamentary standing committee that mentioned that one in five people in Punjab is addicted to drugs.

“Before I am going to take the final decision regarding sending a report to the President of India under Article 356 about the failure of the constitutional mechanism and take a decision about initiating criminal proceedings under section 124 of the IPC, I ask you to send me the requisite information sought for under my letters referred to above, as also in the matter of the steps taken by you concerning the problem of drugs in the State, failing which I would have no choice but to take action according to law and the Constitution," the Governor said in the letter.

Responding to Governor Purohit’s warning, AAP leader Malvinder Singh Kang said that the Governor should maintain decorum.

"India's Constitution empowers elected people... Such threatening and warning by the Governor, a threat to impose President's Rule - the BJP's agenda has come on the lips of the Governor," the AAP leader told news agency ANI.

(With Agency Inputs)