Chandigarh: The AAP on Monday questioned opposition parties for defending Jagga Singh, who allegedly consumed a poisonous substance outside the Sangrur DC office on Sunday, saying nine criminal cases have been registered against him since 2018, with convictions in four.AAP leader Aman Arora said opposition functionaries, including Ravneet Singh Bittu of BJP, Partap Singh Bajwa of Congress and Bikram Singh Majithia of SAD, were using the incident to target the AAP govt. He said the cases against Jagga included those under the NDPS and excise laws, besides a rape case.Arora said two panchayats in Namol village, along with gurdwara committees, farmers’ organisations and villagers, had jointly resolved not to allow drug sales in the village. He alleged opposition leaders were ignoring the village’s stand while defending Jagga.He said a dispute had arisen on Sept 7 when Jagga allegedly approached panchayat members and asked them to search him. Arora claimed a minor altercation followed and both Jagga and the panchayat subsequently filed complaints at Cheema police station. The matter is under investigation, he said.Arora alleged Jagga later threatened to commit suicide if action was not taken on his complaint against the sarpanch and panchayat. “Putting pressure on someone in this manner is itself a way of pressurising them,” he said.He said Jagga was alone when he consumed the suspected poisonous substance outside the DC office and was taken to hospital by police. He was later shifted to Rajindra Hospital after being stabilised.Arora said nine cases had been registered against Jagga since 2018 and convictions had been recorded in four, including drug and liquor-related cases. He also referred to a rape case registered against him.‘OPPN MISLEADING PEOPLE’Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said opposition leaders should consider the “ground reality” in Namol before turning the incident into a political issue. He said villagers had united against drugs and alleged Jagga himself had been accused by villagers of involvement in drug trade.Arora alleged opposition leaders, including Sachin Pilot, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Bajwa, Kewal Singh Dhillon, Bittu and Vijay Inder Singla, had portrayed Jagga as a person fighting against drugs while accusing the panchayat and police of facilitating the trade.He asked them to either substantiate their social media posts or apologise for “misleading people”.
