Moose Wala murder: AAP govt in Punjab loses sheen

The Mann govt has lots to answer for, including why it made public the list of VIP protectees whose security was withdrawn

On Jan. 13, 2022, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) launched a mobile number on which it asked the people of Punjab to give their feedback on its chief ministerial candidate. This "janata chunegi apna CM" drive helped the AAP declare singer turned politician Bhagwant Mann as its chief ministerial face for the Punjab Assembly polls. A teary-eyed Mann then vowed to never let the people of Punjab down. However, two months later, there are enough reasons why the former Sangrur MP needs to do some soul-searching on whether he has lived up to his promises.

The AAP's massive win in the Punjab assembly elections has contributed to its soaring ambitions to increase its national footprint and project itself as a credible alternative opposition to the BJP. This has also meant remote-controlling Punjab from Delhi by flanking Punjab bureaucrats to follow Kejriwal's Delhi durbar. While such optics have played out under the media glare, Punjab has become a powder keg.

The rocky start for Mann began in April when radical Sikh elements came out in large numbers brandishing swords to oppose an anti-Khalistan march, which followed violence and a curfew. The episode was seen as evidence of the Mann government's administrative lapses, with the chorus growing about a possible revival of the Khalistan movement under the AAP government.

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Early May witnessed a rocket-propelled grenade attack at the Punjab Police intelligence headquarters in Mohali, for which the Sikhs For Justice group claimed responsibility. The incident raised questions about Punjab's intelligence apparatus and maintenance of law and order, culminating in an impression that if the police headquarters could be attacked, the safety of ordinary citizens was under threat. However, May 29 unfolded a tragedy that peeled off the AAP government's sheen.

Only a day before, the Mann government put out a list of 424 VIP protectees whose security was withdrawn, including that of Punjabi singer and cultural icon Sidhu Moose Wala, who unidentified assailants brutally gunned down. The singer's security cover was removed despite the Intelligence Bureau report having put Moose Wala under the high-risk category. It was evident that threat perception was not addressed by the police.

The list of people with VIP security is deemed a highly confidential document, but even then, the list was floated on the AAP Whatsapp groups and social media platforms. Chief Minister Mann tweeted the VIP list as a publicity tool and as evidence of his government's commitment to wage war against the VIP culture, without considering that if a highly confidential security document is leaked, it is a violation of the Official Secrets Act.

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Sidhu Moose Wala's brutal murder has exposed the dark underbelly of the Punjab society, particularly its gun culture, but it has also has put the functioning of the AAP government under the scanner, with doubts over its sagacity and insight for governance. With the Opposition demanding Mann's resignation, the Congress has decided to move the court on the secret VIP list leak, and it would be safe to say that the honeymoon period for the AAP government in Punjab is over,

The incident has also left several questions. Why did the AAP leak the confidential security document? Has the AAP lost its moral fibre? Can it claim the same moral grandstanding it has proclaimed for itself for so many years?

Mann was swift in sacking his health minister Vijay Singla for his alleged role in demanding commission in government contracts. Who will hold Mann accountable for failing law and order and leaking sensitive security documents for a public relations exercise?

Will Kejriwal now go back to the people to apologise for what went wrong in Punjab and admit to lapses by the Punjab police and the state government? Will he ask Mann to step down? Today, a party fed on publicity, social media, and loud optics looks vulnerable because it has failed in the perception battle. There is a whisper in the nooks and corners of Punjab today, "Did we vote for the wrong party?". There is undoubtedly a trust deficit amplified after Moose Wala's murder. If this trust shortfall isn't tackled deftly, the AAP in Punjab could be all set to be ravaged by its broom and could perhaps fail to blossom in states like Himachal and Gujarat.

(Neelu Vyas is a senior anchor and consulting editor with Satya Hindi)

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH