Chandigarh: Suggesting that Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria was apparently trying to help the Shiromani Akali Dal and its leader Sukhbir Singh Badal revive itself for an eventual alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party through the “march against drugs”, Punjab Congress president asked the governor whether it was an attempt to run the ‘Samjhauta Express’.As the “anti-drug campaign unfolds”, it looked like cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) being done on the dying Shiromani Akali Dal ahead of the assembly elections in the state, he remarked. Reacting to the SAD president Badal joining the governor’s march, Warring on X said, “My humble question to Hon Punjab Governor Shri Gulab Chand Kataria Ji is whether the march he is leading against drugs is actually a campaign against drugs or an attempt to run the ‘Samjhauta Express’ and prepare the ground for forging an Akali-BJP alliance in the state.” “Before leading the march, did you raise the matter with the Union home ministry, under whose jurisdiction the border security falls?” he asked the governor, while noting that the BSF jurisdiction was expanded up to 50 km inside the borders. Warring said while the AAP govt completely failed already, what was the central govt doing to prevent smuggling of drugs from across the border. “I would request you to raise the matter with the Union Home Ministry before running the ‘Samjhauta Express’ for an Akali-BJP alliance in the name of an anti-drug march,” he urged the Governor, adding, while referring to the pictures of the Governor and Sukhbir together, “I must add, the pictures of the ‘march’ look too ‘nice’ to be overlooked for the obvious message they carry and convey.”
