Chandigarh [India], January 4 (ANI): Former Punjab Education Minister and Congress MLA Pargat Singh on Sunday demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, holding the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government responsible for what he termed a complete collapse of law and order in the state.

Addressing the media here, Pargat Singh said Punjab was witnessing an alarming surge in crime, with gangsters operating fearlessly while the government remained a 'mute spectator.'

He said the situation had escalated and people were living in constant fear.

Referring to recent incidents, the Congress leader said that within the last 48 hours, two young political leaders had been shot dead in separate incidents, exposing the utter failure of the state government in maintaining law and order.

He said that a former AAP sarpanch was gunned down during a wedding function in Amritsar, while a Congress leader was killed in a brutal attack in Moga district a day earlier.

'If people are being assassinated even during social functions, it clearly shows that criminals no longer fear the law. This is a direct result of the incompetence and indifference of the AAP government,' he said, adding that extortion, gang wars and contract killings had become routine across Punjab.

Holding Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the Home portfolio, directly accountable, Pargat Singh said the failure to ensure public safety amounted to a moral and administrative collapse. 'The government has focused on publicity and VIP security, while ordinary citizens have been left at the mercy of criminals,' he alleged.

He said the Chief Minister's claims of a safe and secure Punjab had been exposed, and that people had lost faith in the AAP government. 'Punjab needs decisive governance, not hollow slogans. If Bhagwant Mann has any moral responsibility, he should resign immediately,' Pargat Singh said. (ANI)