CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has returned to the helm of politics after briefly undergoing treatment in a New Delhi hospital, but the comments of his political opponents and the unusual silence from the state AAP leadership on the circumstances that led to his hospitalisation only highlight the severe decline in political discourse in Punjab.
Mann was reportedly injured in a fall at Chandigarh airport after disembarking from a state government chartered flight on Tuesday. He then returned to his official residence but continued to feel unwell and was advised to go to hospital. He was referred to Apollo Hospital in New Delhi for a check-up and returned to the national capital on the same flight that took him to Chandigarh.
Mann was in Delhi on Sunday to take part in a welcome function for AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, who was released on bail in the Delhi liquor scam case and has since handed over the post of Delhi’s chief minister to senior leader Atishi.
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Hours after news of the chief minister’s fall at the airport broke, several opposition leaders in Punjab took to social media to mock his “drinking habits” and some criticised him for not trusting the medical facilities in his own government hospital and instead going to a private hospital in Delhi.
Politicians in the state showed no concern for Mr Mann, who has been in hospital for at least a day, and AAP leaders made no attempt to shield him from a barrage of derisive comments from the BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
Moreover, the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) maintained silence on the matter. When pressed for information, CMO officials tried to make it appear as if all was well by sharing pictures of Mann meeting a delegation of businessmen on Thursday.
But clearly, all is not well. Political analysts ThePrint spoke to said developments over the past week mark a new low in political discourse in Punjab. They also noted that the silence of his party colleagues in response to the attacks on Mann has been deafening, especially at a time when rumours have been swirling in Punjab about his possible removal from office.
Harjeshwar Singh, professor of history at SGGS College Sector 26, Chandigarh, said Mann was responsible for “making vulgar politics the norm in Punjab”.
“Mann has always lashed out at opposition leaders and made baseless allegations. And when they get an opportunity to retaliate against him, they do so mercilessly. It borders on hatred,” Singh said.
Asked about the silence of AAP leaders, he added, “No one really knows why he took the fall at the airport but if it was alcohol-related then obviously no one would defend him. In that case, the party too needs to take the issue seriously.”
Nirmal Singh, professor of political science at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, told ThePrint on Friday that “vulgar language probably started when former chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh said, ‘Put a rat in the Akali Party’s pyjamas and run with it'” among Punjab politicians.
“Politicians are a product of and reflect the society they live in. It’s similar to the way children interact with their parents or students interact with their teachers,” he added.
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Indian National Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira was the first to question whether the prime minister’s fall was linked to alcohol, posting on Tuesday on X: “Wishing @BhagwantMann a speedy recovery! Hope it’s not related to alcohol.”
The next day, Khaira criticised Mann for choosing a private hospital in Delhi for treatment rather than trusting the AAP’s mohalla clinics that the PM had been touting.
Dear @BhagwantMann , if America is considering adopting the @AamAadmiParty Mohalla-Clinic model, why did you choose treatment at the commercial Apollo Hospital in Delhi?
It means you yourself have no faith in the so-called Delhi Model or Punjab Model of Healthcare! @INCIndia… pic.twitter.com/4XI0QGCchE
— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) September 18, 2024
Kaira, a Congress leader who was with AAP for several years, has been a vocal critic of Mann and the party. He was arrested by the Mann government last year in a 2015 drugs case. The firebrand leader regularly posts messages on X about AAP leaders, including the chief minister and his cabinet colleagues. Mann has mocked Kaira’s name, calling him “Aila ghaiira nathu Kaira” (roughly translated as “Tom, Dick and Harry”).
Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, while wishing Mann a speedy recovery, said he was dealing with multiple health issues “including those affecting vital organs like the liver” and that as such Punjab’s health had “irreparably deteriorated under his leadership”.
Wishing a speedy recovery to Chief Minister @BhagwantMann after he suffered a health scare on his way back from Delhi. As he battles repeated health challenges, including one affecting his liver and other vital organs, it’s a reminder that while his personal health is important, so too is the health of Punjab… pic.twitter.com/ET4r5WynbG
— Partap Singh Bajwa (@Partap_Sbajwa) September 18, 2024
Bajwa also slammed Mann for choosing to go to a hospital in Delhi instead of a mohalla clinic in Punjab. “The hypocrisy is astonishing. It is now clear that these so-called ‘advocates of the common man’ have been misleading the people with extravagant claims. The reality is far from the picture they have portrayed. AAP’s promises are mere political theatre and the people of Punjab and Delhi deserve much better,” Bajwa wrote on X.
Bajwa has also been the target of multiple personal attacks from Mann.
Speaking in Parliament earlier this year, Mann called Bajwa’s father a “smuggler” and even alleged that the shawl Bajwa was wearing was bought with the proceeds of corruption.
SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia also posted about Mann’s fall at the airport and alleged that the chief minister was drunk and had appeared on a TV show in that state.
Punjab Chief Minister @BhagwantMann has once again embarrassed Punjab.
👉Inebriated will be taking a charter flight from Delhi to Chandigarh this afternoon.
👉When you land, you fall flat on the runway.
👉Sources say he was injured.
👉His blood pressure is out of control. … https://t.co/Hu5pjudy4G— Bikram Singh Majithia (@bsmajithia) September 17, 2024
Majithia spoke about Mann again at a press conference on Wednesday.
“As per my information, Mann had consumed alcohol during the flight from Delhi, which is unauthorised and illegal. When he landed in Chandigarh and got off the plane, he collapsed on the runway. He returned home but his blood pressure had risen and he was taken to a hospital in Delhi. If the matter was not so serious, why didn’t he go to Ahmed’s party clinic?” Majitia asked, alleging that the prime minister was such a heavy drinker that he would even drink in the official car while travelling.
Majithia has been summoned multiple times by the Punjab Police’s investigation team in a narcotics case in 2021. He has time and again alleged that he is being specifically targeted as he has been critical of the AAP’s work.
(Editing by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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