Grave accusations surfaced in connection with the twin blasts in Punjab within a span of 24 hours, as Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday linked the explosions to the Assembly elections next year and accused the BJP of attempting to manufacture a security narrative in the border state while intensifying its pursuit of political power.
Addressing media persons after paying obeisance at Sri Anandpur Sahib, Mann alleged that the BJP habitually resorts to “riots, blasts, or communal tension” in states where it seeks electoral consolidation, while asserting that the recent incidents bore the unmistakable imprint of a calculated attempt to foment unrest ahead of the polls.
“These blasts mean that the BJP is preparing for Punjab,” he said, while describing the party as a “communal outfit” that allegedly thrives on fear, polarisation, and sectarian fragmentation in order to secure electoral dividends.
Punjab witnessed two explosions within a single day, thereby triggering widespread apprehension across the state’s security establishment, particularly because both incidents occurred in proximity to strategically sensitive installations.
The first explosion took place in Jalandhar near the headquarters of the Border Security Force, where a scooter exploded and caused panic in the vicinity, while hours later, another blast was reported near the Khasa cantonment area in Amritsar, close to Army and BSF facilities.
Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav visited the site near the BSF Headquarters, Punjab Frontier, where a two-wheeler had exploded after catching fire late on Tuesday night, while senior security officials commenced an intensive investigation into the sequence of events surrounding the explosions.
Calling Punjab a peace-loving state that had already endured prolonged decades of bloodshed and militancy, Mann said the government would not permit any attempt aimed at destabilising communal harmony, while assuring that those responsible for the blasts would be identified and punished severely.
The chief minister further alleged that following the Assembly elections in West Bengal, the BJP had shifted its political focus towards Punjab and was attempting to engineer communal fissures in order to cultivate an atmosphere of insecurity. He also claimed that the party was uncomfortable with Punjab’s anti-sacrilege legislation because the law had curtailed attempts to provoke unrest through acts of sacrilege and religious provocation.
“Punjab believes in Sarbat Da Bhala and world peace. Such divisive acts will not succeed here. Punjabis have always stood firmly with the country,” Mann asserted, while reiterating that the state would resist all attempts aimed at disturbing its social cohesion.
Meanwhile, DGP Gaurav Yadav, while addressing a press conference later in the day, stated that Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence was attempting to “disturb the situation” in Punjab, thereby adding an additional dimension of cross-border intrigue and security concern to the investigation already underway into the twin explosions.