Chandigarh, Jan 24 (IANS) Saying that RDX was used in a blast near the railway station in Sirhind town of Punjab’s Fatehgarh Sahib district, State BJP Working President Ashwani Sharma, on Saturday, criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Convenor Arvind Kejriwal for turning the state unsafe with an atmosphere of fear.

In the blast, the driver of a goods train was injured and railway property was damaged. However, no loss of life was reported.

The explosion occurred on a railway track meant for Amritsar-Delhi goods trains in Fatehgarh Sahib district on Friday night.

At that time a goods train was passing through the railway track.

Targeting the AAP government, BJP leader Sharma said in a statement that the blast, which occurred just days before the Republic Day, exposed negligence in security arrangements and the failure of the state administration.

“Law and order is not an advertising campaign but a constitutional duty of the government. However, the Mann government has failed to discharge this responsibility,” he added.

BJP leader Sharma alleged that gangsterism in Punjab has become rampant, drugs have destroyed the youth, and ordinary citizens feel unsafe.

“In contrast, instead of taking strict measures at the ground level, the state government is confined merely to advertisements and claims.”

BJP leader Sharma demanded that the Punjab government immediately fix accountability, order a high-level inquiry, and take the strictest possible action against the culprits.

He said “if immediate steps are not taken on law and order, the BJP will raise this issue on every platform”.

Meanwhile, State Congress Chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring condemned the blast and said this was a clear failure of the state government and the police.

“This is an ominous sign and does not portend well for Punjab,” he said in a statement.

Warring added that the Congress has continuously been warning the AAP government against the threat to peace and law and order in the state.

“People of the state are already living in an atmosphere of fear of the gangsters and now there is the terror of blasts that brings back the harsh memories of the dark era in Punjab,” he said, while noting the use of RDX in the blast “suggests that those behind it were up to something big and dangerous”.

He asserted that only the Congress could safeguard the lives and property of people as it has the proven track record.

“I assure everyone on behalf of my party that we will not let anyone to push Punjab into the dark era once again,” Warring said.

–IANS

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