Jakhar claims ‘Centre has right to remove irresponsible CM’

Chandigarh: Punjab BJP chief Sunil Jakhar on Wednesday reacted sharply to chief minister Bhagwant Mann's statement linking the blasts in Jalandhar and Amritsar to the saffron party's "poll preparations", warning the Centre had the "right to remove the chief minister" and the party will pursue every legal recourse available for the ouster of "an irresponsible" CM."Legally, I understand there is no right to recall, but we will take legal opinion. The authority to remove the chief minister exists with the central govt," he said. Jakhar added the BJP would talk to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and ask him to change his chief minister. "There is [Harpal] Cheema sahib, [Kultar Singh] Sandhwan sahib, Aman Arora ji, Sanjeev Arora ji. They all are ready. Anyone of them can be made the chief minister, but we will run a full campaign against Bhagwant Mann ji," Jakhar said in a video message, accusing Mann of giving an "irresponsible statement" while also citing that the state DGP made a statement saying the blasts were likely the handiwork of Pakistan's ISI, as a reaction to Operation Sindoor.Jakhar said instead of fulfilling his responsibility, Mann was "dragging BJP into this issue".0In an apparent reference to seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs merging with the BJP, Jakhar accused the CM of making statements "out of frustration."In Chandigarh, Union minister of state for railways and food processing Ravneet Singh Bittu hit out at Mann and dared him to "give proofs and get a case registered against BJP workers and send police to arrest them for the blasts".Bittu said if the chief minister "neither apologised nor presented evidence", the BJP will pursue the matter legally and also approach courts.Bittu said BJP itself had been at the receiving end, with grenade attacks targeting Punjab BJP office in Chandigarh and senior BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia. "Is the chief minister in a position to say anything, when its own police intelligence headquarters had come under an RPG attack in the past?" Bittu said. "Ever since Sidhu Moose Wala was murdered, not a month had passed in Punjab without incidents of murder, gang wars or explosions."