Punjab turned into a ‘police state’: Pargat Singh ahead of Rahul Gandhi’s Sangrur rally

Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh on Thursday asked how police could reach a conclusion in a murder case within two hours when the Sidhu Moosewala killing took years to investigate. His attack came days before Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Insaaf Rally’ in Sangrur on November 4.

“When the probe into a case as big as Moosewala’s murder took years, people will naturally ask how a murder conclusion was reached in another case in just two hours,” he told reporters in Chandigarh.

Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, will address the rally, where the Congress expects more than one lakh people. The party had first billed it as the ‘Hisab Maango’ rally to launch its 2027 Assembly poll campaign. Sangrur is Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s home district. AAP won all five seats there, and Mann took Dhuri by 58,206 votes.

Pargat Singh raised the cases of Parminder Singh Jhota and Gulzar Singh and demanded open answers on the police probes. Jhota, an anti-drug activist from Mansa, was allegedly shot by a medical shop owner on October 13. Police said early findings pointed to personal enmity. Mann later handed the case to the CBI on the family’s demand. Gulzar Singh, a Sangrur resident, died after allegedly being harassed for confronting a minister over drugs.

“Every case must be probed fairly, backed by solid evidence and handled under the law. Police should earn people’s trust, not deepen their suspicion,” he said. He added that the government had not even visited Jhota’s family to offer condolences.

A former Punjab Police SP, Pargat Singh said he had warned in the Assembly that AAP was turning Punjab into a “police state”. Police and civil officers are demoralised and public faith in the force is falling, he alleged. “The BJP has weakened democratic institutions in the country. AAP is doing the same in Punjab,” he said.

He said the government had stayed silent for four and a half years on farmers, youth and ordinary people. At Sangrur, the Congress will raise law and order, drugs, jobs, paddy procurement, sacrilege and Punjab’s rights.

On paddy, he said farmers were struggling to sell their crop with no solution in sight. He asked why Punjab’s farmers were not assured fair prices and timely buying when better prices were being discussed in other states. “Farmers need more than promises. They need smooth buying in mandis and the full value of their hard work,” he said. The government’s silence, he added, was only making their troubles worse.

On sacrilege, he said moving the cases out of Punjab had raised serious questions.

He sought clear answers on Section 79(1) of the Dam Safety Act and on Punjab’s interests in water supplied to Rajasthan. With legal cases on river-water disputes under Sections 78, 79 and 80 pending, he said, the government must fight Punjab’s case seriously. “Statements alone will not protect Punjab’s water.”

The scale of Punjab’s drug problem is no secret, he said, and unemployment is hurting young people in towns and villages. He urged the media to focus on jobs, drugs and law and order. “Punjab must not slide into a state where the rule of law weakens and ordinary people feel unsafe,” he said.

Asked about the Model Code of Conduct coming into force, he said it would not fix a broken system. What Punjab needs, he said, is to restore faith in the police and administration and fix accountability. “If the Congress forms the government, every task will be done by the rules. No one will be allowed to act arbitrarily,” he said.

On the proposal to grow poppy to fight synthetic drugs, he said any decision must come from an expert committee under strict rules. The aim must be to cut drug use, not create a new crisis, he said, calling for scientific study and close monitoring.

He appealed to people to unite and said the Sangrur rally would be a voice for Punjab’s farmers, youth and its demand for justice. Punjab needs accountable governance to overcome drugs, unemployment and worsening law and order, he said. Under Rahul Gandhi, the Congress would keep fighting for Punjab’s rights and dignity.