Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday said the national security threat perception was real as there was a perceptible increase in drone movement from across the border since the farmers’ protests started gathering heat in October 2020.
He said he had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah amid the farmers’ agitation to discuss this grave issue and to ask him why Central forces could not be provided adequate equipment to locate and shoot down the drones.
“Currently, the Khalistani cells in Punjab are dormant but they are being fed with weapons via the drones to activate them to create trouble,” he said.
“Any breach of the Punjab border was a breach of national security,” said Captain Amarinder at a press conference on the completion of four years of his government. “While a large number of weapons had been seized near the borders, the cause of worry is those which have not been caught, he said. “I am worried about where those are.”
Detailing the arrests and seizures since his government took over in March 2017, the Chief Minister said 333 modules of terrorists and gangsters had been busted while 3,472 militants-gangsters arrested. “Ten drones had been picked up, in addition to 2,000-odd weapons [including rifles, revolvers, pistols etc], hand grenades, RDX and other explosives, walkie talkies and satellite phones. 11,000 rounds of ammunition had also been seized. These are not small numbers for a small State like Punjab.”
Asked about former Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu’s rehabilitation, the Chief Minister said, “Everyone wants him to be part of our team.” He was hopeful that Mr. Sidhu, with whom he had a very cordial meeting even on March 17, would soon take a decision on joining back. He would also be happy to have Partap Singh Bajwa and Shamsher Dhullo as part of the team, he said, adding that while everyone has one’s own ambitions, it is up to the Congress president to decide. “In a difficult hour, you have to set aside your own ambitions and stand with the party,” he, however, said.
To a question on him leading the Congress and being its CM face in 2022, Captain Amarinder said it was for the AICC president to decide. On the EVMs versus paper ballots, the Chief Minister said he was among the first to oppose the machines as they can be fudged.
He also opposed the policy of excessive regionalisation being followed by certain States. “I believe that India is one country,” he said, adding that too much regionalisation is not a good thing. (Recently Haryana has reserved 75% of jobs for locals in the private sector.)
Amid rise in the COVID-19 cases, the Chief Minister announced 2-hour extension in the night curfew in nine worst affected districts.
Night curfew will now be in place from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m, instead of 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. in the districts of Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala, Mohali, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Ropar. All these districts are reporting more than 100 cases daily. The announcement came as Punjab’s daily cases shot up to 2,039 with 35 deaths on Wednesday.
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