At the all-party meeting held in Punjab on Monday, in addition to the People’s Party, a resolution was unanimously passed, rejecting the center’s notice to strengthen the jurisdiction of BSF in border states and stating that if the government does not withdraw this measure, Punjab will take Legislative approach.
Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, speaking to the media after the meeting he convened, said that the state will write to the center to withdraw the notice extending BSF’s search, seizure and arrest jurisdiction to 50 kilometers from the border-from the current 15 kilometers- -In Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.
Channi said that he and Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa have written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this issue, but have not received a response. “If the center does not do this, we will hold a special Vidhan Sabha meeting to cancel the notice,” Channi said, adding that they are ready to appeal to the Supreme Court. He said that the state did not encounter any problems in the border area and needed to take such action.
In a speech to the media at a meeting in Siliguri, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also stated that she had written to the Prime Minister against “attempts to interfere in the country’s federal structure”.
She added: “Earlier, their jurisdiction reached 15 kilometers and there were shootings in Balurghat or Cooch Behar. Event. Now they have extended it to 50 kilometers. This is an attempt to interfere in the federal structure. We have a very friendly relationship [with neighboring countries]. There is no need to create such chaos. Law and order are the main body of the state. .” Channi said that all political parties in Punjab are in agreement on this matter.
Although the main opposition parties AAP and Akali Dal participated in the party meeting, the BJP did not. The BSF justified the expansion of jurisdiction on the grounds of uniformity, and earlier stated that it differed from state to state. In Punjab, the new BSF jurisdiction covers most of the towns on the Amritsar-Jalandhar highway in the Majha region. The Golden Temple in Amritsar’s city centre is less than 32 km from the zero line.
The Punjab Congress Chairman Navjot Singh Sidhu, who attended the All-Party Conference, accused the Centre of misusing Central agencies. “The national border can be 5 kilometers, 7 kilometers, how to enter the state 50 kilometers?” he said.
News Source : The Indian Expess
