“Teachers Dragged from Homes Before Martyrdom Tribute—Is This Democracy, Mr. Kejriwal?” - Padma Shri Pargat Singh

Chandigarh (The Uttam Hindu): Padma Shri awardee and senior Congress leader Pargat Singh launched a scathing attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for arresting unemployed youth and teachers ahead of the Shaheed Udham Singh martyrdom tribute in Sunam.

Pargat Singh said the arrests and house arrests of peaceful protesters reflect AAP’s fear of public accountability and its misuse of state machinery to crush dissent.

“This is the real face of AAP. The same party born from protest now fears it. Instead of listening to the unemployed youth, the government is arresting them. Is this the ‘change’ AAP promised? This is not governance. This is tyranny,” he stated.

According to him, B.Ed-TET qualified unemployed teachers were detained or picked up from their homes just because Delhi Chief Minister and AAP National Convener Arvind Kejriwal was attending a public event in Sunam. “Even before Kejriwal set foot on the land of martyrs like Shaheed Udham Singh, the voices of Punjab’s jobless youth and farmers were silenced. This is dictatorship in the guise of democracy,” said Pargat Singh.

He added that in over three years of rule, AAP has failed to deliver on major promises and now resorts to police action to stifle those who question them. Pargat Singh also warned the party leadership that Delhi-style suppression won’t work in Punjab. “Punjabis don’t tolerate political bullying. You cannot intimidate them with arrests and raids. Misusing the Punjab Police for political gains is shameful—and it will not work.”

He further asked the AAP government to answer why unemployed youth and union leaders were arrested in late-night raids, and whether the move was purely to prevent peaceful protest. “If AAP thinks this is governance, it’s no different from the regimes our ancestors fought to overthrow. Shaheed Udham Singh’s sacrifice is insulted when a government silences the voice of the people in his name,” he concluded.