Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
A political confrontation between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the opposition Congress unfolded in Punjab on Sunday after Congress MLA Dalbir Singh Goldy was detained by police ahead of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s door-to-door campaign in Dhura village near Dhuri.
Mann was scheduled to launch his campaign in the village as Punjab gears up for the 2027 Assembly election. A day earlier, Goldy had said he wanted to meet the chief minister to discuss issues concerning Sangrur and Punjab. He had also threatened to show black flags to Mann if he was not allowed to meet him.
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On September 20, Goldy reached the campaign venue just minutes before Mann was expected to arrive. He had a black cloth wrapped around his neck when police intervened and took him away from the spot.
Neither the Congress nor the Aam Aadmi Party has issued a statement on Goldy’s detention so far.
The incident comes as the political contest in Punjab heats up ahead of the 2027 Assembly election, with the ruling AAP and Congress trading barbs over issues ranging from development to the state’s drug problem.
On September 18, Congress’s Punjab in-charge, Sachin Pilot, attacked the AAP government and the BJP over the drug crisis in the state.
In a post on X, Pilot said six Punjab districts — Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Fazilka, Firozpur and Ludhiana — had recently been classified as “ultra-sensitive” districts, calling it an indication of the extent of the drug problem in the state.
“Neither the AAP government nor the BJP can escape responsibility for this,” Pilot said, accusing the AAP government of failing to deliver on its 2022 promise to make Punjab drug-free within three months.
He also targeted the BJP-led central government over alleged drug trafficking and referred to the seizure of drug consignments worth thousands of crores at Mundra Port.
Meanwhile, Mann has also stepped up his attack on the opposition. While launching the electoral manifesto, the chief minister said opposition parties should present their own programmes to the people instead of merely criticising the AAP government.
“The opposition parties should place their own programmes before the people rather than merely criticising the state government,” Mann said. “Have you ever seen these parties talking about Punjab’s welfare and problems? They only want to abuse me, but they should tell the people what they will do for Punjab.”
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
