Rahul Gandhi accuses Punjab AAP of torture pattern over drug query
Rahul Gandhi alleges AAP government tortures critics, citing a Dalit man's death after questioning drug policy; seeks minister's resignation.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has escalated his party's offensive against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, alleging that the administration responds to criticism with intimidation and violence. The attack comes as the state gears up for assembly elections early next year.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Gandhi cited the case of Gulzar Singh, a Dalit man whose son became addicted to drugs. Singh, according to Gandhi, had questioned Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema about the government's failure to curb the narcotics trade.
Gandhi claimed that Singh was tortured and humiliated for raising the question, and was pressured into apologising. He said Singh later consumed poison and died after being shuttled between hospitals without adequate treatment.
The Congress MP also referenced a separate incident involving a young man named Mohanjeet Singh, who he said was tortured for protesting against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Gandhi described these incidents as part of a "dangerous pattern" within the AAP government.
He asserted that the government should answer the people rather than suppress dissent. Gandhi demanded Cheema's resignation and called for an independent investigation, insisting that the finance minister's name be included in the First Information Report (FIR) related to the case.