advertisement
Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Monday, 25 October, announced that the state government will approach the Supreme Court against the Centre's recent move to expand jurisdiction of the Border Security Force (BSF) from 15 km to 50 km from the international border in Punjab.
Channi added, "Political parties will hold agitations against the extension of BSF jurisdiction in Punjab. We will also approach the Supreme Court seeking justice in this matter. A session of Punjab Assembly will be convened in the next 10-15 days to pass resolutions against the central government's notification and against the three farm laws."
The all-party meeting included the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), represented by Bhagwant Mann and Aman Arora, and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), represented by Daljit Cheema and Chandumajra, Hindustan Times reported.
However, the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Punjab unit boycotted the meeting pointing out that there is no conflict between the BSF and the state police.
As per the notification, the BSF will now have the power to arrest, search, and seizure to the extent of 50 km inside three new states - West Bengal, Punjab, and Assam - sharing international boundaries with Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, Congress state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu accused the union government of weakening the federal structure by "creating a state within a state", NDTV reported.
Sidhu also alleged that the BSF "daily violated" the constitutional provision of the country in the name of security in West Bengal and was further quoted as saying, "there is a possibility that instances of torture, false cases, arbitrary detention and illegal arrests would happen in Punjab too".
(With inputs from The Hindustan Times and NDTV.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)