A wave of protest swept through Punjab as leaders of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC), led by President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, gathered for a resolute demonstration outside the Director Panchayat office in Mohali. Their unified outcry was directed against the decision of the Punjab Government, led by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), to prematurely dissolve all panchayats across the state, before their stipulated tenure had ended.
In a resounding display of opposition, senior figures from the Congress party, along with Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), lent their voices to the protest, vehemently challenging the AAP government’s actions in Punjab.
With an unwavering commitment to amplifying their protest, the Punjab Congress has strategized a forthcoming sit-in protest outside the Chief Minister’s residence.
Amarinder Raja Warring, at the helm of the PPCC, declared that a formal petition had already been lodged with the Punjab and Haryana High Court, challenging the perceived overreach of the AAP government in dissolving the panchayats.
In his scathing criticism of the AAP government, Warring highlighted the perceived authoritarian undertones of the move and posed a provocative question, “What if the Punjab Governor exercises their constitutional authority and dissolves the AAP government a full six months before its scheduled term expiration? Would the Chief Minister remain passive?”
The Leader of the Opposition, Partap Singh Bajwa, underscored the larger implications of the AAP government’s actions, categorizing the move as an affront to the country’s federal structure and a transgression against its constitutional framework. Bajwa further emphasized that the sarpanches, as the elected representatives of the populace, held a crucial mandate.
Casting accusations that the ruling party was employing tactics of coercion against panchayat leaders and members across the state, Bajwa reaffirmed the Congress’s commitment to resisting any form of oppression against the state’s leaders or citizens. The protest also saw a poignant moment of silence observed by Warring and other senior Congress leaders, in memory of the late farmer, Pritam Singh, who tragically lost his life in a recent clash in Longowal, Sangrur.
