Capt Amarinder Singh slams AAP leader's claim on Punjab crime figures

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], September 7 (ANI): Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Harpal Singh Cheema over his "misleading and politically motivated" statement on the state's law and order situation.
Amarinder accused AAP for mutilating facts in a "desperate" bid to win the 2022 electoral battle, which they can already see slipping away from their hands, according to a statement from the Punjab government.
Responding to Cheema's "unfounded and baseless" allegations of increasing cases of crime in the state, Singh expressed shock over the highly irresponsible behaviour of the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in spreading false information based on some unsubstantiated media report.
"Instead of picking up unverified data from here and there, Cheema could have approached the Director General of Police (DGP) to get the facts, which are completely removed from what he has put in his press release," Amarinder said in an official statement.
Cheema has once again proved that the AAP ideology is based on lies and fabrications, with all the leaders of Arvind Kejriwal's party having become masters of deceit, quipped the Chief Minister, adding that contrary to Cheema's claims, only 38 cases of `kidnapping for ransom' have been reported in the state since his government took over in March 2017.
Even those meager 38 cases (0.5 per cent) relating to 'kidnapping for ransom' registered since March 2017 were solved, with the victim's release successfully secured and culprits arrested in each of them, said the Chief Minister, adding that even convictions have been obtained in many instances by fast tracking of criminal trials in serious cases.
Taking a dig at Cheema's evident ignorance, he said, "7138 incidents cited by Cheema, who evidently cannot differentiate between kidnapping for ransom and other cases of abduction or kidnapping, but then, your total lack of experience of governance, administration or policing, this does not come as a surprise," remarked the Chief Minister.
As the Home Minister of the state, Captain Amarinder said "he would not mind giving a few quick tips to the LoP to save him similar embarrassment over his total ignorance in the future".
Amarinder further went on to rebut Cheema's claims on the kidnapping for ransom cases in various districts, pointing out that as against the LoP's claim of 1032 such cases, only 3 were actually reported in Ludhiana, with all cases eventually solved.
Similarly, in Amritsar Commissionerate and district, only 2 cases were of 'kidnapping for ransom' were reported, while in Jalandhar district, there was actually not a single case of `kidnapping for ransom', as against the 619 claimed by the LoP, he added.
The law and order situation in Punjab is currently among the best in the country, the Chief Minister said.
On the LoP's allegation of nexus between the ruling party leaders, administrative and police officials with criminals in Punjab, he said such collusions only take place in AAP, whose national convenor Arvind Kejriwal was seen openly hobnobbing with people of militant and criminal background during the run-up to the 2017 Assembly elections.
The chief Minister further nailed Cheema's lies on industrial development, pointing out that the last more than 4 years had witnessed the realization of Rs 91,000 crore investment on the ground. AAP's frustrated attempts to undermine these achievements through lies and fabrications will not only fail but will once again backfire on them as had happened in 2017, he warned the Opposition. (ANI)