Jalandhar: Condemning the Punjab Pollution Control Board raid on Rajya Sabha member Rajinder Gupta's industry on Thursday, after he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), former Punjab minister and senior BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia said that it only proved how authoritarian and dictatorial the Punjab government is.
"Gupta is not just a Rajya Sabha member, but is a very well-respected industrialist who has invested huge money in Punjab and generated thousands of jobs. He was also given the Padma Shri in 2007 for his exemplary work in the field of trade and industry," Kalia said. "What message does the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government want to convey with such vindictive raids?" he asked, while warning that such dictatorial actions will only discourage industrialists and businessmen from investing in Punjab.
Kalia further highlighted that Gupta served as vice-chairman of the State Planning Board during both the Akali-BJP government and the Congress government. The AAP government also appointed him as vice-chairman of the Punjab State Economic Policy & Planning Board and later as a Rajya Sabha member.
The raid has sparked political controversy, with the BJP accusing the ruling AAP of targeting political opponents. The development comes amid heightened political tensions in Punjab ahead of upcoming elections.
