TARN TARAN: Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Vice President and former Khadoor Sahib MLA, Ravinder Singh Brahmpura, today described the conviction of AAP MLA Manjinder Singh Lalpura in a 2013 case as an expose of the AAP government's true criminal character. He has demanded that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann immediately take Lalpura's resignation and expel him from the party.
In a statement released here, Brahmpura said, "This court verdict has not only convicted Lalpura but also the 'staunchly honest' facade of AAP, behind which a whole system of crime and hooliganism is flourishing. After being found guilty of persecuting a Dalit family, Lalpura has lost all moral right to sit in the sacred house of the Legislative Assembly."
Launching a sharp attack on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal, Brahmpura stated, "Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his Delhi boss Arvind Kejriwal must now answer to the people of Punjab why their government has become a safe haven for criminals. Was the slogan of 'change' a guarantee to give political power to criminals? An individual convicted by a court sitting in the Legislative Assembly is a direct insult to the mandate of the people of Punjab."
Brahmpura said that this decision confirms the fears he had expressed in a written complaint to the Governor Gulab Chand Kataria. He added, "The illegal mining mafia, patronage of those accused in the murder of a sub-inspector, and connections to cross-border drug and arms smuggling are all beads of the same string. This proves that this is an organized crime syndicate operating under the patronage of the AAP government."
Brahmpura emphasized that the Shiromani Akali Dal will not tolerate any cover-up in this matter. He unanimously demanded that Manjinder Singh Lalpura be immediately dismissed from the Legislative Assembly, the AAP high command expel him from the party, and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann take moral responsibility for this grave error and publicly apologize to the people of Punjab.
In conclusion, Brahmpura warned that if the Chief Minister shows any leniency in this matter, it will become clear that this 'gunda-tantra' (reign of hooligans) is being run directly from Chandigarh and that they are all complicit.