Punjab CM warns Kejriwal against 'instigating people' amid pandemic

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Thursday warned his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal against trying to exploit the Covid-19 crisis to instigate the people in Punjab villages, which have witnessed a spurt of fake news and provocative videos.

An Aam Aadmi Part (AAP) worker by the name of Amrinder Singh has been arrested and is being questioned to ascertain as to who motivated him to circulate a post of a dead body to mislead the people of Punjab into believing that organs of dead Corona patients were being removed by the state Health Department. The Chief Minister said the video or post propagated by the AAP worker was seen to be exhorting and provoking people not to cooperate with health authorities, thus endangering the health and safety of the citizens of the state.

Such rumours are provoking a section of the community to resist proper medical care which needs to be provided to all Covid-19 affected citizens, which is a clear case of a deadly criminal conspiracy against the people of the state who are already suffering due to the pandemic, said the Chief Minister in a statement. There were enough indications of a massive plot by elements inimical to the interests of Punjab, he said, disclosing that the police on Thursday morning registered another case in Patiala on a complaint by a local journalist, who was offered $100 for making and circulating a false video on Covid-19.

Amarinder Singh said Kejriwal's announcement in the midst of the shocking viral campaign, asking AAP workers to go around villages and streets of Punjab with oxymeters to check people's oxygen levels, raised serious questions on the role of his party in the conspiracy to undermine the Punjab government's efforts to keep the pandemic under check and save the lives of the people of the state.

The Delhi Chief Minister's decision could have grave repercussions for Punjab's security and integrity, said Amarinder Singh, warning Kejriwal against playing into the hands of anti-India forces from across the border, who are trying to use the pandemic to foment fresh trouble for the state. Amarinder Singh asked Kejriwal to stay out of Punjab and focus on managing the Covid-19 scenario in his own state, where the situation was worsening by the day with more than 2,500 new cases being reported on Wednesday and hospitals reportedly running out of ICU beds again.

"We don't need your oxymeters. We just need you to rein in your workers in Punjab, where they are trying to incite my people into not going to hospitals to get themselves tested and treated for Covid," said Amarinder Singh. AAP worker Amrinder Singh of Mishriwala village in Ferozepore district has been arrested by the Punjab Police for circulation of false and misleading posts on social media platforms.

Photographs and videos claiming that doctors were removing vital organs of Covid-19 patients had been traced to 31-year-old Amrinder, who was actively operating from Moga. The posts and videos reportedly exhorted and provoked people not to cooperate with health authorities besides spreading false rumours about removal of body organs of dead Corona patients by the Health Department.

It is learnt that Amrinder Singh is an active AAP worker and an aspirant for the MLA ticket from the Ferozepore Assembly segment. He has been actively participating in protests and agitations on behalf of AAP.