The Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar has refuted claims that the saffron party has designs on toppling the AAP government in the state. In an exclusive interview with The Tribune, Jakhar stated that the Central government has no plans to bring down Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. However, he asserted that the AAP dispensation will collapse under its own weight due to unfulfilled promises and rising unrest among MLAs.
Jakhar dismissed allegations by former Congress leader Charanjit Channi that the BJP can engineer defections anytime. He pointed out that Home Minister Amit Shah had only directed a warning to AAP about the short lifespan of its government. According to Jakhar, the AAP is headed for a fall owing to the “misdeeds” of not keeping its pre-poll pledges and failure to address farmer issues.
The BJP state president cited growing dissatisfaction among AAP legislators, who are reportedly being closely monitored. He referred to a news report about MLAs being restricted in a heavily guarded area. Jakhar said the Jalandhar bye-election results will prove pivotal, predicting it would spell the end of Mann’s tenure as CM. He also suggested that Kejriwal’s fate in a criminal case could impact the AAP government.
Overall, the interview saw Jakhar launching a scathing attack on the Congress and AAP over the issues of polarisation, radicalisation and rising crime. He denied the charge of BJP fomenting religious divide, sharing constituency-wise vote tallies. Jakhar warned that poor law and order was driving citizens towards seeking security in numbers. He advised all parties to focus on Punjab’s real worries like drugs and economic distress.
