Homegrown trouble

The vacuum left by Punjab's inert political parties is fertile ground for radical elements

- PRATUL SHARMA

BHAGWANT MANN, who was chosen as Punjab chief minister after the Aam Aadmi Party’s surprisingly decisive victory a year ago, had a lot of promises to fulfil. In fact, he had an eventful first year, though not exactly the way he would have liked it: A minister and a legislator from his party were arrested on corruption charges; another minister resigned after his name figured in an alleged extortion call; Mann’s close aide lost the by-poll in the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat that he had vacated; rapper Sidhu Moose Wala was gunned down by gangsters after the government withdrew his security; and the decision to elect ‘outsiders’ to the Rajya Sabha has not gone down well with the people.

The growing disillusionment with the Mann government has left a political vacuum, making the state a fertile ground for the self-styled separatist leader Amritpal Singh. In fact, the trucker-turned-preacher’s swift rise took the people of the state by surprise, leading to speculation that he was parachuted from outside. And his raid of the Ajnala police station on February 23 to free his associate brought back memories of the state’s chequered past.

While the Khalistan movement may not have many takers in the state, the polarisation and disenchantment with political institutions spells bad news. “Failure of moderate political parties to capture the space has led to the emergence of elements like Amritpal, as there was no group or process in the state to check it. There was no roadblock,” said Prof Pramod Kumar, director, Institute of Development and Communication, a Chandigarh-based think tank.