Chandigarh: Accusing chief minister Bhagwant Mann of misusing the state’s intelligence apparatus for political espionage, Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar on Thursday urged governor Gulab Chand Kataria to order a probe into the same.
Jakhar, who wrote a strongly worded letter to the governor, raising alarm over what he alleged as a grave constitutional breach and institutional abuse by chief minister Bhagwant Mann, referred to Mann’s statement in the Punjab legislative assembly where he declared: “Main sarkar vich haan, mere kol intelligence hai” (“I am in the government, and I have the intelligence”).
Jakhar held this was not a stray remark, but a public admission of deploying the state intelligence network for surveillance on political rivals - a serious subversion of democratic norms and institutional propriety.
He further held soon after this statement, the additional director general of police (Intelligence), R K Jaiswal, was abruptly transferred. ``This cannot be dismissed as coincidence,’’ Jakhar said, asking was he removed for refusing to comply with political directives?
Jakhar also cited the recent grenade attack on the residence of senior BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia in Jalandhar, alleging how the diversion of intelligence resources toward political spying can weaken the state’s ability to prevent real threats.
Jakhar urged the governor to order a high-level judicial or independent inquiry into the misuse of intelligence and the removal of the ADGP. He also called for the governor to refer the matter to the Central government and national investigative agencies, stating that Punjab’s status as a sensitive border state makes this not just a state issue, but a matter of national security.
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