Punjab: AAP govt to launch war against gangsters on lines of Yudh Nashian Virudh

Ludhiana, Jan 8 (PTI) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab on Thursday announced that a full-scale war would be launched against gangsters on the lines of the 'Yudh Nashian Virudh' anti-drug campaign.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met newly elected zila parishad and block samiti members at an event held here.

Kejriwal said that the government will launch a major campaign against gangsters after the war against drugs.

"Just like we started a war against drugs, we will start a war against gangsters as well. All gangsters and their networks in Punjab will be eliminated. We will not spare them," he said.

Citing AAP's sweeping victory of over 70 per cent seats in the recently held panchayat polls as a mandate for clean politics and honest governance, the former Delhi chief minister said that Punjab had witnessed the cleanest local body elections in its history, while Mann underlined that "pro-people governance had forced traditional parties to rewrite their manifestos".

Recalling the past, the AAP supremo said that earlier, panchayat elections were won by the ruling party through force and manipulation.

"In 2013, panchayat elections were held one year after the government was formed. In 2018 as well, elections were held one year after the government came to power in 2017. Despite that, there was rampant booth-capturing, 'gundagardi' and coercion, and only then did they win," he said.

Contrasting that with the present AAP government, Arvind Kejriwal said, "Today, after four years of our government, elections for block committees and district councils were held and not even the slightest coercion was done. Look at the results," he said, adding that there are more than 600 seats where candidates won by less than 100 votes.

Out of these, more than 350 seats were won by the opposition. There are many seats where the Congress or the Akali Dal candidates won by just one vote. "Have you ever heard that a ruling party candidate lost by one vote?" Kejriwal said if AAP wanted to misuse power, it would have been very easy.

"If we wanted to indulge in coercion, we could have just called the sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) and got our candidate declared elected.

He said shifting one vote here or there was not difficult but AAP did not do that.

He said AAP did not come into politics for this. It was not formed to do coercion, corruption or goondaism, he added.

"If that was the goal, then what difference would remain between us and the Congress, the BJP or the Akali Dal? We came to change politics, to clean politics, to fix politics and to end coercion and goondaism," Kejriwal said.

He said the electoral mandate reflected performance. "After four years in government, if we win over 70 per cent seats with 38 per cent vote share, that 38 per cent is a vote for our work, not for coercion or corruption. It is a vote for honesty and decency. Our party is a party of decent people." Kejriwal emphasised AAP's commitment to ordinary citizens. He said AAP gives tickets to ordinary people. It is the party where an ordinary person becomes the chief minister, he said.

"Bhagwant Singh Mann's father was not a politician. None of his relatives were politicians. Yet he became chief minister. In my family too, no one was a politician, yet I became chief minister," he said.

Kejriwal said more than 90 per cent of the newly elected zila parishad and block samiti members also come from families with no political background. If they perform well, they can become MLAs and ministers purely on the basis of their work, he said.

On the fight against drugs, he said that the ongoing war against drugs in Punjab is a result of the AAP government's political will and courage.

Mann said the Congress and the Alkalis have no agenda.

"They are merely waiting for their turn to return to power. But their dreams will never be fulfilled because people are fully aware of their dubious role against Punjab and its people," he said.

Addressing the gathering, senior AAP leader and Punjab in-charge of the party, Manish Sisodia, said that the newly elected members had been chosen by the people and entrusted with a huge responsibility.

"The mandate reflects people's faith in the pro-people and development-oriented policies of the Punjab government," he said. PTI COR SUN KSS KSS