Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday and discussed law and order in the state, urging that state and central agencies should work together to deal with the complexities. This meeting came after the Ministry of Home Affairs asked the Central Armed Police Force (CRPFs) to send 2,430 security personnel, including eight companies for the Rapid Action Force, to Punjab before the annual Hola Mohalla Festival. After the meeting CM Mann tweeted that this has been decided that Centre and Punjab will work together to resolve the issue of law and order.According to the information, during the meeting they also discussed the situation that created a roar, after supporters of Sikh preacher and Khalistan sympathiser Amritpal Singh clashed with police in Amritsars Ajnala. Issues related to drones and drugs from Pakistan were also discussed in the meeting. CM Mann added, “In the meeting with @amitshah we discussed the issue of drones and drugs on the border. The issue of shifting thorny wire on the border was also discussed. Asked to release Punjabs stalled rural development fund soon. Centre-Punjab will work together on the issue of law and order.”According to sources, a conference about the state of Punjab was called earlier this week in the MHA, and senior personnel from intelligence agencies were also present. The Waris Punjab De head Amritpal Singh Sandhu, along with his supporters, stormed the Ajnala police station to obtain the release of an arrested associate, according to a source. They also discussed the present law and order situation and how to get out of the situation in Punjab.According to the official statement, the intel agencies are now trying to ascertain about the funding route of Amritpal and also scanning the role of the financiers. As pet the information, Union Ministry last week has directed the deployment of 18 companies in Punjab ahead of the three-day Sikh festival Hola Mohalla that will be celebrated on March 8. The decision was taken to conclude the festival peacefully. The Central Armed Police Force (CRPFs) to send 2,430 security personnel, including eight companies for the Rapid Action Force, to Punjab before the annual Hola Mohalla Festival. The force will be initially deployed from March 6-16 in Punjab and the stay can be extended after talks between the state and the Centre if required.The official of the Central government said that the Union Home Ministry is closely monitoring the Punjabs situation in the wake of renewed activities of some Khalistani supporters. The Punjab Police on February 24 said that the protestors had used the holy book Guru Granth Sahib as a shield and attacked the police personnels, leaving six of them injured.Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann also brought up the matter of Kuldeep Singh Chahals delayed posting as Chandigarh Senior Superintendent of Police following governor Banwarilal Purohits repatriation. Purohit, who serves as the administrator of Chandigarh, has already received a group of IPS officials from the state government. Yet the orders for the posting is not given. He has also brought up the matter of the centers 3,000 crore rupee holdup of the Rural Development Fund (RDF). CM Bhagwant Mann also urged Shah to make liberal financial contributions to ensure modernization of the state police force in order to successfully address the current challenges. He also asked him to provide ultra-modern gadgets and weapons for checking cross-border infiltration and drone attacks across the border.The meeting was attended by Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav, Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Ravi Bhagat and others. The problems being faced by the farmers were also the part of the discussion in the meeting.
