Congress general secretary and Punjab in-charge Sachin Pilot on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, accusing it of failing to maintain law and order, curb drug trafficking and fulfil its promises to voters. His remarks came during a visit to Phaguwala village in Sangrur district, where he reviewed preparations for the party’s ‘Insaaf rally’ scheduled for November 4.
Pilot, accompanied by senior Congress leader Vijay Inder Singla and other local politicians, inspected the arrangements at the venue ahead of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s visit. The rally is expected to draw more than one lakh people from across Punjab and is being projected by the Congress as an opportunity to raise issues concerning the state's rights, governance and public welfare.
Punjab Congress president Pargat Singh had also visited Sangrur on Friday to assess the arrangements and meet party leaders and workers. The preparations come amid the Congress leadership's efforts to strengthen the party's organisation and formulate its strategy ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. Senior state leaders had recently met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi to discuss the electoral strategy and the rally.
Pilot says Punjab needs justice, accuses AAP of betraying voters
Addressing the media, Pilot said Rahul Gandhi would present a comprehensive vision and roadmap for Punjab, assuring people that the Congress, as a national party, remained committed to protecting the state's future.
He asserted that the principal political contest in Punjab would be between the Congress and the AAP, arguing that the ruling party had lost the confidence of the people who had given it an opportunity to govern.
Describing the rally as necessary, Pilot said people across Punjab were demanding ‘insaaf’ (justice) for what he termed the betrayal of their trust by the AAP government.
“Not only have the public lost trust, but the party’s MPs and MLAs have too. The resignations of legislators from the ruling party, which came to power with a massive mandate, show clearly that the AAP has failed,” he said.
Pilot's remarks come amid political turbulence within the AAP, including the departure of several leaders and legislators, which the Congress has cited as evidence of growing discontent within the ruling party.
Pilot questions Mann over deteriorating law and order
Targeting the Bhagwant Mann-led government over the law and order situation, Pilot alleged that its primary concern was retaining power rather than ensuring justice and addressing people's grievances.
Referring to the Mansa incident, he criticised the state government's handling of the situation. The Congress has been raising the issue of the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa, alongside concerns over drug trafficking and public safety.
Pilot alleged that Punjab was witnessing a complete breakdown of law and order, with drug peddling escalating to alarming levels. He also raised concerns over increasing incidents of extortion, shootings, gangsterism and attacks on police personnel.
Holding Mann directly responsible for the situation, Pilot pointed out that the chief minister also holds the home portfolio and, therefore, must take responsibility for preventing the deterioration in security.
He questioned the government's inability to rein in criminal activities and restore public confidence in the state's law enforcement machinery.
BJP accused of engineering defections, electoral roll concerns raised
Pilot also trained his guns on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that it engineered defections in regional parties such as the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) because it lacked a strong political foundation of its own.
He further questioned the Centre's handling of cross-border arms smuggling, claiming that even after 12 years of BJP rule at the Centre, the flow of weapons from Pakistan remained an unresolved concern.
On reports of voters' names being deleted from electoral rolls, Pilot assured residents that their votes would not be removed. He said his team was examining the situation through a booth-wise analysis to identify discrepancies and address concerns over the deletion of voters' names.
Sangrur holds political significance for Congress and AAP
The choice of Sangrur for the rally carries considerable political significance, as the district is the home turf of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. It is also the native district of three prominent cabinet ministers in the ruling AAP government, who hold important portfolios.
Rahul Gandhi's November 4 visit will be his third to Sangrur district. His first visit was in 2013, when he laid the foundation stone for the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) satellite centre in Ghabdan village. He returned in 2017 to address an election rally in Ballian village on the final day of campaigning for the Punjab Assembly elections.
The Congress has said the upcoming gathering will provide a platform to raise concerns over Punjab's rights, the drug menace, unemployment, farmers' issues, paddy procurement, sacrilege cases and the deteriorating law and order situation.