Congress's Partap Singh Bajwa slams govt for 'running away' from issues; seeks assembly session extension

Chandigarh: Following his demand to extend the Punjab Assembly Session, Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa on Tuesday said that the state has many issues to discuss but the government is running away.
"Punjab has many issues from youth to government employees. Farmers are sitting on dharna at Chandigarh, Mohali border, there is Lawrence Bishnoi issue, corruption issue, but they (govt) say they don't have business. This means the government is running away," he said.
The Congress leader launched a scathing attack on the state government, accusing it of complete failure in addressing the issue of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi's alleged interview in a Punjab jail.
"The government has completely failed...During Zero Hour, I raised the issue of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, but the CM and Punjab DG denied that no interview took place in any jail of Punjab. The Special DG submitted evidence about this interview in an envelope to the High Court...We demand that the report of the Special DG be tabled in the House," Bajwa said.
"Punjab Police in connivance with gangsters is involved in extortion in Punjab and outside the state...Be it mining, drugs, extortion, Punjab Police is deeply involved in all this and all this should be exposed," he added.
The three-day session of the Punjab Assembly began on Monday and is scheduled to end on Wednesday.
Lawrence Bishnoi is a jailed gangster and an accused in the murder case of Punjabi singer Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala.
Moosewala was murdered on May 29, 2022, in the Mansa village of Punjab. According to the police, the assailants fired several bullets at him. He was also active in politics. He had fought Punjab assembly polls from Mansa on a Congress ticket but was defeated.
Earlier, a report was submitted by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to Haryana and Punjab court which suggested that the TV interview of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi was conducted from Bathinda jail in 2023, where he was lodged.
Referring to this, Punjab Congress Chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring had earlier said that they cannot expect justice for Sidhu Moosewala from a government where gangsters hold such 'power' over the administration.
Taking to 'X', he wrote, "The people of Punjab demand answers, @AAPPunjab. How is it possible for a gangster to give an interview from inside a jail? How can the public feel safe when such liberties are afforded to murderers?"
The Congress leader further claimed that 'dark days' are looming for Punjab. "We cannot expect justice for Sidhu Moosewala from a government where gangsters hold such power over the administration. Law and order have deteriorated severely, and dark days are looming for Punjab", he said.
The SIT is probing two TV interviews of jailed gangster Bishnoi, reportedly given to private channels in 2023, when he was lodged in Bathinda jail in Punjab.
He is currently incarcerated in Gujarat's Sabarmati jail, following a drug seizure case.