Leader of Opposition and Senior Congress leader Pratap Bajwa on Tuesday appeared before the Punjab Police in his grenade remarks case. Pratap Bajwa had sought 1 day time from Punjab Police after he was summoned on Monday for questioning in the FIR that was filed against him. Bajwa was booked by Punjab Police after he made a remark in a TV interview in which he claimed that 50 grenades have come into Punjab out of which 18 have been exploded and 32 still remain to be detonated. In response, CM Bhagwant Singh Mann asked Bajwa's source as the information shared by the Congress leader is neither with the Central agencies nor with the Punjab Police. However, the Congress leader refused to reveal his source.
As of now (while writing) Pratap Singh Bajwa is being questioned at Mohali's cyber police station over his statement on bombs. As a result, Congress workers and leaders are staging protests outside the Police station where Bajwa is being questioned. Punjab Congress chief and Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring was also seen at the protest site and raising slogans against the Punjab Government. It is feared by the Congress workers that Bajwa may get arrested by the Punjab Police.
On the other hand, AAP workers, led by state minister Aman Arora, also gathered outside the station, raising slogans like “Congress ka haath, aatankwadiyon ke saath.”
Bajwa knocks High Court's doors
As per reports, on Tuesday morning, Pratap Bajwa filed a petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court to cancel the FIR. It is likely that the matter will be heard on Wednesday. Bajwa has said that the FIR has been registered against him as part of politics. Notably, Raja Warring has reiterated the same 'vendetta politics' angle in the case.
What did Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann say on Pratap Bajwa?
The Chief Minister said that a senior leader of the Congress party had on Sunday given a baseless and irrational statement that 50 bombs have been sneaked into the state out of which 18 had exploded and 32 more are still there. He said that this illogical statement was solely aimed at terrorizing the people and creating panic amongst their minds. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this is intolerable, unwarranted and undesirable as the people of state will never forgive such leaders.
The Chief Minister said that neither state nor central agencies have any input in this regard but the Congress leader has made this false and irrelevant statement. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this kind of apathetic and irresponsible attitude of the unwarranted and undesirable. Taking a jibe, he said that rather than telling the location of bombs Bajwa is now running pillar to post behind the lawyers for seeking refuge from law for his misdeed.
In his address, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann demanded that Bajwa should disclose his source. CM Mann questioned, "Who are Bajwa’s connections in Pakistan that terrorists are directly informing him about bomb deliveries? This information isn’t with intelligence agencies or the central government—so how did he receive it?"