Aman Arora demands SIT Probe into SAD Leader’s alleged links with gangsters after SAD fields gangster’s close relative in Tarn Taran bypoll

Jalandhar(The Uttam Hindu): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Punjab President Mr. Aman Arora, on Sunday, charged Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal) with “institutionalising gangsterism” in Punjab’s politics, alleging that the party has shifted from “sheltering gangsters” to now “fielding them and their family members as official candidates.”

While addressing media at DAVIET in Jalandhar, Mr. Arora criticised SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal for fielding the mother-in-law of an infamous gangster as the party’s candidate in the recently held Tarn Taran by-election. “Has the Akali Dal exhausted its pool of dedicated workers and leaders?” he asked. “Why must tickets be handed to gangsters or their close relatives? What message does this send to the people of Punjab?”

Terming the development a “new low” in state politics, Arora alleged that this by-election exposed a deeper pattern of political patronage extended to criminal networks. He demanded a comprehensive probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into what he called the “Badal family’s close links with organised crime,” insisting that only a dedicated investigative mechanism could “bring the full truth to light.”

While drawing a clear ideological line between the competing parties Mr. Aman Arora said, "We in the Aam Aadmi Party believe in earning the people's mandate through humble service and development works. Sukhbir Badal's Akali Dal, in contrast, tried to snatch votes through fear, coercion and threats. This desperate alliance with crime exposes a party that is morally and politically bankrupt, clinging to relevance by unleashing criminal elements on the people of state."

Mr. Aman Arora further accused Sukhbir Singh Badal of overseeing a “complete gundakaran of the Akali Dal,” citing the arrest of the party’s IT Cell chief for allegedly using threats issued through a gangster based abroad during the Tarn Taran election campaign. “Anyone attempting to disturb Punjab’s peace and law-and-order—no matter how powerful—will face the law,” he asserted.

Commending the citizens of Tarn Taran for resiliently rejecting these tactics, Mr. Arora called upon the people of Punjab to unitedly "give a fitting, mouth-shutting reply" to any political force that promotes gangsterism, vowing that the people will always triumph over the politics of fear and intimidation.

Responding to media queries, Mr Arora also expressed serious concern over the recent bomb blast in New Delhi, calling it an “intelligence lapse of grave proportions.” He emphasised that Punjab, having endured decades of militancy, remains committed to cooperating fully with the Union Government to prevent such threats, particularly given its sensitive border location.