Captain Amarinder Singh slams Pragat Singh over BSF row; 'birds of same feather as Sidhu'

Former Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday hit back at Congress leader Pargat Singh who had questioned his intention after he supported the Centre's enhancement of BSF's operational mandate. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Wednesday allowed the Border Security Forces (BSF) in West Bengal, Punjab, and Assam to extend their area of jurisdiction subsequently giving them powers to conduct searches, arrest suspects and make seizures in-depth within these states. 

Following MHA's decision, Captain Amarinder cited the present situation in Kashmir and had outlined that drugs, weapons are being pushed in Punjab. Extending his support to the extension of BSF's jurisdiction, the former Punjab CM had also urged not to drag the central armed forces into politics. However, Punjab Cabinet Minister Pragat Singh accused Captain Amarinder Singh of being close to the BJP and alleged that he wanted to push Punjab towards the governor's rule. 

Now, Captain Amarinder has hit back at Pragat Singh and compared him to Navjot Singh Sidhu. Outlining the 'irresponsibility' of the State Minister,  Amarinder Singh called him and Navjot Singh Sidhu 'birds of same feather' who can 'cook up ridiculous stories for cheap publicity.' 

Punjab CM Channi calls BSF jurisdiction extension 'direct attack on federalism'  

Following the announcement of BSF’s Jurisdiction Extension, Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Charanjit Singh Channi condemned the decision and called it 'irrational'. Adding to it, Channi also urged the Centre to 'roll it back' immediately. Apart from Channi, the Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa talking to the media had said that the interference in the federal structure cannot be compromised. "I appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah to consider this issue. Why to deploy the BSF inside 15km of fencing? Army or BSF never entered inside the state this far," he added.

Centre amends BSF Act

The Centre on Wednesday amended the BSF Act to authorise the central armed forces to undertake search, seizure, and arrest within a larger 50 km stretch, instead of the existing 15 km, from the international border in Punjab, West Bengal, and Assam. In Gujarat, which shares a border with Pakistan, the same limit has been reduced from 80 km to 50 km while in Rajasthan the limit has been kept unchanged at 50 km. Rajasthan and Punjab also share borders with Pakistan while Assam has an international border with Bangladesh. However, in five northeastern states — Tripura, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Manipur — the guarding organisation's jurisdiction has been reduced to 60 km from 80 km.

Furthermore, an officer of the rank corresponding to the lowest ranking member of the BSF has been empowered under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) to exercise and discharge powers and duties without a warrant or order from a Magistrate. Now, the officers have been empowered to arrest the suspect or any person against whom a complaint has been made or reliable information has been received. The BSF can also conduct a search at a place entered by a suspect.

Image: PTI/Pragat Singh/Facebook