The opposition has made serious allegations against Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of coming to the assembly drunk. Due to this, there was a huge uproar in the House and the demand for dope test of all the MLAs including the CM was raised.
The issue of ‘liquor’ has once again become hot in the politics of Punjab. The opposition has made serious allegations against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of coming to the assembly under the influence of alcohol. There was a lot of uproar in the House regarding this matter and Leader of Opposition Pratap Singh Bajwa demanded that ‘alco-meter’ and ‘dope test’ of all the MLAs including the Chief Minister should be immediately conducted.
What happened in the assembly?
The incident occurred during a special session called on the occasion of Labor Day. During the session, a Congress MLA alleged that the Chief Minister had come to the House in an inebriated state. Making this an issue, opposition leader Pratap Singh Bajwa said, ‘When such a serious allegation has been leveled against the head of the state, then there should be an alcohol test of the Chief Minister and all the MLAs to find out the truth and lie.’
Swati Maliwal targeted
Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, who recently left Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined BJP, has also attacked Bhagwant Mann by sharing a video on this. He said, ‘Today again Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann has come to the temple of democracy i.e. Assembly after drinking alcohol. This person goes to Gurudwaras and temples drunk, he used to come to Lok Sabha also drunk and in a foreign country, he was removed from a flight due to excessive drinking.
Swati Maliwal further said, ‘Before the elections, I had sworn by placing my hand on my mother’s head that I would not drink alcohol again. It is a matter of shame that Mann, being the CM of a border state, is always drunk. He is signing the files while drunk.
Akali Dal released video
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has also condemned this behavior of the Chief Minister. Releasing a video clip of the assembly, the party said, ‘Coming to the House after drinking alcohol on Labor Day is an insult to the people of Punjab. Bhagwant Mann should come in front of the people and get his dope test done.
Answer of Bhagwant Mann and AAP
Amidst all this uproar, CM Bhagwant Mann said, ‘This special session has been kept for the workers. Maintain the dignity of the House by leaving aside minor disputes. At the same time, the ruling AAP has rejected these allegations as ‘baseless and politically motivated’. This controversy has arisen at a time when recently there have been reports of seven Rajya Sabha MPs of AAP joining BJP, which has made the matter more interesting.
Even before this, in 2022, there was an allegation of allegedly forcing Bhagwant Mann down from a flight at Frankfurt Airport. Even at that time the opposition had accused him of drinking too much alcohol. At present, the politics of Punjab is completely heated due to this ‘liquor’ controversy.