AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said 70 per cent of drugs entering Punjab were currently coming from Gujarat. He alleged Gujarat had become the gateway for drugs under BJP, which he called the ‘ED Party’. He also referred to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi as ‘ED Party ka damaad’, implying he was being sheltered by the Centre.
Kejriwal made these remarks during ‘Sarkar Vyapaar Milni’ while addressing traders at Rajeshwari Satya Auditorium, Apeejay School, Jalandhar.
Taking a dig at SAD, BJP, and the Congress, he said Punjab had four parties: the ‘Chitta Party’ or ‘Beadbi Party’ (SAD), ‘ED Party’ (BJP), ‘Jhagda Party’ (Congress), and AAP. He said while the reputations of the other three parties preceded them, only AAP could safeguard the interests of the people and the state’s traders. He alleged that drugs and the gangster ecosystem in the state were created by successive governments.
Accusing BJP of targeting traders through ED raids in the state, he reiterated that AAP was reaching out to address their problems.
“Last year the ‘ED Party’ collected Rs 60 crore in donations from Punjab. But AAP got only Rs 70 lakh. The government is ours. BJP has only 2 seats. But the ‘ED Party’ received large amounts from industrialists. How? Through the threat of ED raids. Whoever didn’t pay was raided,” he said.
Speaking at the event, Kejriwal said, “‘The ED Party’ and ‘Chitta Party’ alliance brought drugs to people’s homes in the state. But under the AAP government, strict action is being taken against drugs and bulldozers are razing drug smugglers’ properties.”
He claimed, “70 per cent of drugs and chitta coming to Punjab is from Gujarat. Gujarat has become the gateway for drugs under the ED Party. When AAP formed the government in Punjab, 70 per cent of drugs came from Pakistan and 30 per cent from Gujarat. We took decisive action and curbed most of the drugs coming from Pakistan through policing and anti-drone measures.”
To support his claims, he cited the seizure of 3,000 kg of drugs at Mundra Airport worth Rs 21,000 crore and a CAG report stating that 2,200 kg of drugs were ‘eaten by rats’ in Gujarat.
“There are four parties in Punjab. The ‘Chitta Party’ brought chitta to homes. People also view that party with hatred and anger over sacrilege incidents that happened during its rule. The second is the ‘ED Party’, which misuses ED to extort traders and industrialists. The third is the ‘Jhagda Party’, whose leaders keep fighting and do nothing worthwhile. The fourth is AAP — Aap ki party, the people’s party,” he said.
Taking on BJP over law and order, Kejriwal said, “Almost all state gangsters are henchmen, associates, kin, or relatives of leaders of former parties. But AAP is cleaning out gangsters. For the first time, AAP deported 7 gangsters from 7 countries. Only one remains — Lawrence Bishnoi. He’s sitting in Sabarmati Jail. He’s the ‘damaad’ of the ‘ED Party’ and is being protected by them. Bishnoi has spread chaos. But the Ministry of Home Affairs has passed an order that no one can take him out of Sabarmati Jail. So while Bishnoi allegedly runs activities across the world from inside the jail, even the Punjab Police can’t bring him to the state. They have to interrogate him there. He has all facilities. The gangster ecosystem remaining in Punjab is due to the ‘ED Party’.”
Meanwhile, reiterating Kejriwal’s remarks, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann told traders that former parties, especially the Akalis, had extorted money heavily from traders, so much so that they were even scared of success. Mann said successive governments nurtured criminal elements and now made noise when the AAP government started stern action against them.
The CM assured the 500-600 traders present that their demand letters would be collected and their problems addressed.
Apart from CM Bhagwant Mann and national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, the event was attended by AAP Punjab Affairs in-charge Manish Sisodia, state president Aman Arora, Cabinet Minister Harpal Cheema, other ministers, MLAs, and functionaries of the trade wing.
Huge hoardings and cut-outs of CM Bhagwant Mann, Arvind Kejriwal, and party leader and cultural advisor Deepak Bali dotted the city ahead of the twin meetings in Jalandhar today. After ‘Vyapaar Milni’, AAP is also hosting a religious evening, ‘Ek Shaam Bhagwan Shiv Ke Naam’.
