The ruling AAP in Punjab on Friday slammed Governor Banwarilal Purohit over his "threat" to impose President's rule in the state, and said this should be done in Manipur and Haryana instead.
Upset over Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann not answering his letters, Purohit warned that he could launch criminal proceedings and send a report to the President on the “failure of constitutional mechanism” in the state.
Purohit advised Mann to act before he takes this “final decision” under Article 356 of the Constitution and Section 124 of the Indian Penal Code.
Punjab Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang asserted that the Mann government was working within the constitutional framework and accused the BJP of trying to interfere in the functioning of governments in non-BJP-ruled states.
"The Governor should maintain decorum and not give the threat of Article 356. If they want to impose President's rule then it should be done in Manipur and Haryana,” said Kang.
Both Manipur and Haryana have BJP-led governments and were in the news recently over ethnic and communal clashes.
A state is brought under direct rule of the Centre with the invocation of Article 356, usually after a report is sent by the Governor. The IPC section relates to assaulting or wrongfully restraining the President or a Governor from exercising their lawful powers.
"Before I take a final decision regarding sending a report to the President of India under Article 356 about the failure of the constitutional mechanism and take a decision about initiating criminal proceedings under section 124 of the IPC, I ask you to send me the requisite information sought for under my letters referred to above, as also in the matter of the steps taken by you concerning the problem of drugs in the state, failing which I would have no choice but to take action according to law and the Constitution," the Governor wrote.
The Shiromani Akali Dal accused AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal of deliberately creating a constitutional crisis in Punjab by directing Mann to adopt a "confrontationist" attitude with the Governor so that the party could play the victim card in case Presidential rule was proclaimed in the state.
In a statement, senior SAD leader Daljit Singh Cheema said, “After AAP's failure to project itself as a victim on the issue of the Delhi Services Act, Kejriwal is now misguiding the Punjab chief minister with the ulterior motive of taking political advantage nationally in case the government is dismissed. By doing so AAP is betraying the mandate of Punjabis who will never trust the party again in case it runs away from its responsibilities in such a manner," said Cheema.
Asserting that there was a “total collapse” of governance in the state, the SAD leader said, “The Governor has pointed out the government's failure to submit an action report on the sale of drugs from 66 liquor vends in Ludhiana as detected by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB). Besides this, the, Governor has also referred to several reports from various agencies regarding the rampant availability and abuse of drugs in Punjab. The chief minister's silence on this issue indicates the AAP government is hand in glove with drug traffickers and is providing a protective shield to them,” he said.