Ashish Ranjan
Amritsar to hold G20 meeting from March 15: On Sunday, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, chief secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua, and Punjab police inspector-general (headquarters) Sukhwinder Singh Gill all denied reports that the G-20 meetings were being moved from Amritsar.
In light of the opposition parties’ increasing criticism of the AAP government in Punjab over the law and order situation, concerns were raised on Sunday regarding the state’s capacity to host two upcoming G-20 meetings in Amritsar. Amritsar is scheduled to host G20 meetings on education and L20 meetings on labour from March 15 to 17 and March 19 to 20, respectively, and the local government is already working to enhance the city in preparation for the G20 delegates. The prime minister told the reporters on Sunday, “Don’t put too much stock in sources. We have no such official information that the G-20 summit in Amritsar has been cancelled.”
Chief secretary Janjua stated that he has confirmed at the “highest level” that the G-20 summit will be conducted as planned in Amritsar, and he added that some individuals were spreading false rumours about the venue change. Even IG Sukhchain Singh Gill stated that the G-20 meetings will proceed as planned in Amritsar and that the Punjab police are able to provide the necessary security for the event. Both a Press Information Bureau (PIB) statement and a tweet by Punjab Rajya Sabha member Vikramjit Singh Sahney stated the same thing.
Amritpal Singh, a self-proclaimed Sikh preacher and Khalistan sympathiser, was involved in an incident in January in which his supporters laid siege to the Ajnala police station and clashed with police. As a result, the AAP administration is facing severe criticism from opposition parties.
The state’s chief minister, who met with Union home minister Amit Shah earlier in the week, made it plain on Saturday that he was receiving minute-by-minute updates and keeping a close eye on all developments in the state. Additionally, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) deployed approximately 2,000 Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel to Punjab in order to reinforce the security perimeter around Hola Mohalla.
Sunday, Congress MPs Gurjeet Singh Aujla (Amritsar) and Jasbir Singh Gill (Khadoor Sahib) and Bholath MLA Sukhdev Singh Khaira questioned whether Amritsar would host the G20 summits.
A senior administration official who wished to remain anonymous disclosed that, following the February 23 incident at Ajnala, they were asked to’review’ the entire security situation and were ‘advised’ to change the venue. Harpreet Singh Sudan, deputy commissioner of Amritsar, denied receiving any official notification of the cancellation of G20 events in the city.
AAP Rajya Sabha member Sahney tweeted that the March 15-17 G20 meeting in Amritsar was confirmed. “Punjab is entirely capable of hosting an international event, and an isolated incident does not represent the state as a whole. It will be a spectacle to remember.”
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PIB issued a statement, which it also tweeted, announcing that Amritsar would host the Labour 20 (L20) meeting on March 19-20. “The Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh is the primary national trade union centre in charge of organising the L20 inception meeting during the India G20 presidency. In addition to the meeting, the L20 participants will be taken to various excursion locations to showcase the city’s rich cultural heritage,” the statement continued.
