A day after AAP Sanour MLA Pathanmajra slams Punjab Govt, his security is withdrawn

“I knew it beforehand. I told these personnel yesterday that they should prepare. Delhi leaders think they can scare me by threatening me with Vigilance inquiries and cases. This is Delhi leaders’ pressure,” Pathanmajra said.

“I want to tell the CM that all MLAs are with you. If you do not listen to me today, then it will be too late. I have been a soldier of the party. They are dictators. Instead of replacing the officers, they are taking action against the MLAs. They want to send a message to all the MLAs by doing this to me,” he added.

Pathanmajra, whose constituency borders Tangri, aired his resentment to the media on Sunday during a visit to the river to assess the situation after floodwaters entered a 1-kilometre area in Sanour. The AAP leader specifically slammed Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Krishan Kumar, Principal Secretary, Water Resources, accusing them of neglecting his constituency.

“You can get a Vigilance inquiry initiated against me. They can get 50 inquiries done. How is it that Krishan Kumar is heard, but MLAs are not? Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will have to think. He has been a farmer. He knows. If we continue to listen to officers in cities, the state will be submerged. If the CM listens to MLAs more than officers, then this situation will not arise,” he said, pointing towards the flood waters in his constituency.

“I will stand by my people. If I do not amplify their voice, then I am at fault. If I say this is not the government’s fault, then these people will throw me in the river… I will also raise this in Vidhan Sabha. I will have to listen to them,” he added.

The AAP MLA said he was elected twice by the people of Sanour in 2017 and 2022. “I have not been able to do anything. If they do something, then I will praise the government. I will say Krishan Kumar is good. When they have not done anything, then why should I praise them? Other MLAs are also restive, but they do not speak… I will speak,” he said.

“I am speaking against the government. They will either suspend me or expel me from the party. I do not care. The public is with me. People have voted for us. They have not voted for Krishan Kumar. We can only save the people of Punjab by listening to the MLAs. Otherwise, people will beat us with shoes. The chief minister will have to think about it. Majha is submerged. Punjab is submerged.”

‘You have destroyed Majha, Punjab’

Expressing his resentment against the principal secretary (Water Resources), Pathanmajra said he will not seek permission to desilt the river next time. “We will do the silting on our own. We will widen it and deepen the bed of the Tangri River. If Krishan Kumar comes, then we will bury him in a ditch.”

The MLA said there is no ban on lifting silt from rivers in Haryana. “Here, he always scares us that the Centre is after us. They will book us. I say let the Centre get a case registered against me. There are already 20 cases registered against me. They cannot hang me. If I have to go to jail, then I will go.”

He said that he had got Rs 19 crore sanctioned for the desilting of the Tangri River. “Then the file went to Krishan Kumar. He said, ‘Get this done from MGNREGA’. I don’t know why he said that. The MGNREGA workers are usually old. They can clean the parks. They cannot clean such huge projects. If they can clean such huge projects, then we can get the Ghaggar cleaned. Then we will not need the government.”

Continuing with his criticism against Kumar, Pathanmajra said he called the senior officer called Saturday, “He did not answer my call. Then I called up the CMR. Then I got a call. I asked him to put this silt in a bowl and consume it. He asked me what his fault was. I told him it is your fault. You have destroyed Majha, you have destroyed Punjab. He did not allow us to do silting from the river bed.”

‘I am not scared’

Pathanmajra said he will not buckle under pressure, and will not delete the video in which he can be heard slamming the AAP government.

“If they want to throw me out of the party, they can. I am with the people of my constituency. If I do not amplify their voice, they will not let me enter this area. If I listen to them today and get after Krishan Kumar, then I can save my people and save my state,” he said.

“Only a year and a quarter is left. People will not let us enter their villages. Do you think any MLA will not face any action speaking like this? I am not scared. Baba Buddha Sahib will protect me. These people are with me. Whatever is destined for me will happen. No one can harm me.”

Taking another dig at Maan, he said, “The CM is my relative. This makes people more upset with me. The road going to the chief minister’s in-laws’ house is also broken. They will ask me what I did for the constituency. If I am the captain of this area, then I will have to think. The CM is also the captain of the government. He, too, has to think. If he does something, we are with him.”

The Punjab chief minister’s wife, Dr Gurpreet Kaur, is related to him.