Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and Spokesperson Raghav Chaddha on Friday alleged that Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has surrendered half of the state to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
His remarks come after the Centre empowered the Border Security Force (BSF) to conduct searches, arrest suspects and make seizures up to an area of 50 km inside Indian territory from International Border (IB) along India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh borders through an order on Wednesday.
"Channi has surrendered half of Punjab to the Prime Minister. Let's understand the chronology. On October 1, Channi met PM Modi. Then on October 4 and 5, he met the BJP-appointed Punjab governor and Union Home Minister Amit Shah respectively. On October 14, the Modi government passed an order giving more jurisdiction to the BSF in border states. Channi surrendered 50 per cent of Punjab and 100 per cent of federalism to Modi. Now, 12 districts of Punjab are in full control or are almost in control of the Centre," he said.
He questioned CM Channi that, "What kind of deal was struck between you and the Prime Minister?"
He called the centre's move a 'direct attack on federalism'.
"We (AAP) condemn this order by Centre, we won't let this happen in Punjab. Does the centre doubt the state administration, police and the patriotism of Punjabis?. There is nobody as patriotic as Punjabis. The centre can arrest anyone in the areas under BSF jurisdiction, they can make seizures and carry out preventive arrests as well. We are afraid that this order could be misused to terrorise, divide and polarise the people of the state and to terrorise the farmers as well," he added.
As per the fresh order, the BSF, which was only empowered to take action up to fifteen kilometres in the states of Punjab, West Bengal and Assam, has now been authorised to spread its jurisdiction up to 50 km without any hurdle or further permission either from central or state governments.
However, its jurisdiction has been cut short by 20 km in the five northeastern states-- Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya-- where it had jurisdiction up to 80 km. Similarly in Gujarat, the BSF's jurisdiction has been curtailed from 80 to 50 km.In Rajasthan, the BSF's area of jurisdiction will remain the same at 50 km.
He further alleged that the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) was indirectly trying to control non-BJP ruled states.
"BJP has realised that they cannot form a government in Punjab so they have resorted to destroying the federal structure of this country wherever they feel that the chances of forming a government are bleak," he said.
He expressed that the matter was about national politics, saying, 'If it was truly about the national security, why the area under the jurisdiction of BSF was not increased in a BJP-ruled Gujarat where the 3,000 kg heroin was captured from a port. It is certainly about national politics."
He said that the Centre had tried to interfere in the federal structure of governance in Delhi as well, but they could not succeed.
"It is because we do not have Channi. We have Arvind Kejriwal who fights for the people of Delhi. That is why, the federal structure in Delhi is intact and the vote of Delhi citizens still has a value," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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