The gunning down of prominent singer Sukhdeep Singh Sidhu Moosewala in Punjab on Sunday was shocking and painful. In this context, it must be stated that the withdrawal of security cover for 424 so-called “VIPs” in the state was among the widely welcomed actions of new Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. Now, the Opposition parties are blaming him for the untimely death of the singer. The police say the killing was done in the context of a gang-rivalry involving criminal gangs. However, Moosewala’s political links and his contesting as a Congress nominee in the last February assembly polls added another dimension to the murder. The ordering of a judicial inquiry and the arrest of some gangsters in connection with the cruel act might give the AAP government in the state some reprieve for now.
The larger issue is the peculiar situation that exists in Punjab and by extension the Union Territory of Chandigarh — the common capital for Punjab and Haryana. A curious sight there was the omnipresence of gun-holding security guards that accompanied not only senior politicians or ministers but even the Tom, Dick and Harry, who had sought police protection on patently flimsy grounds. Those who wanted to show their importance in public created situations of “threat” to their lives via manipulated means and sought police cover. Even some journalists had been moving around there with the accompaniment of gun-wielding, uniformed cops. A justification held out by the previous governments there was that “a lot of youths” were getting government employment as security guards. The common man’s disgust at such situations formed the backdrop for the CM’s decision.
Notably, an SAD politician had been shot down in Punjab in August last year. There are bound to be more attacks in Punjab and Chandigarh. The Khalistani movement is in revival mode and the central government is mindful of such moves. The Khalistanis were, from the very beginning, being patronized by the Pakistani military intelligence, the ISI. Creating law and order problems in Punjab is part of their agenda. They are also behind the drug mafia. All things considered, it is important for political parties there to avoid playing into the hands of such divisive elements. The AAP government is on the right track and there is no pressing need for a review of the withdrawal of security cover for unworthy elements there. When the common man in this country lives with no security, there is no justification for extension of a VIP culture in such a vulgar form as Punjab did for the past many years.
