Chandigarh, February 18 Opposition parties in Punjab on Wednesday attacked the Bhagwant Mann government over the murder of an AAP sarpanch in the Tarn Taran district, saying it exposes the "shocking collapse" of law and order in the state.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sarpanch Harpinder Singh was shot dead by unidentified assailants during a wedding function on Wednesday. This incident comes nearly a month after another AAP sarpanch, Jharmal Singh of Valtoha village in Amritsar, was shot dead during a wedding function.
Criticising the state government following the murder on Wednesday, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said no one is safe, not even AAP leaders, under the Mann government.
"Law and order is in shambles and there is no accountability. AAP Sarpanch, Harpinder Singh, from Tarn Taran was shot dead at a wedding function. Enough is enough, Punjab demands Justice, not just silence," said Warring in a post on X.
Congress MLA Pargat Singh denounced the assassination of yet another AAP sarpanch as a "resounding slap" on the face of the Mann dispensation and its police administration.
"Bullets rain incessantly, murders proliferate unabated -- what infernal chaos grips Punjab? Where has the machinery of law and order so abjectly evaporated," he asked.
Gangsters and assassins operate with brazen impunity, while the government and police posture as mute spectators. Conditions have spiralled into utter anarchy: not even weddings, celebrations, or homes offer sanctuary anymore, said Singh.
Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa said the "cold-blooded" murder of a sarpanch exposes the "shocking collapse" of law and order in Punjab.
"Under @BhagwantMann and @AAPPunjab government, gangsters roam free while the government stays busy with PR. Border districts are turning into crime zones and the state is being pushed into fear. Punjab is paying heavily for this bloody 'Badlaav'," he said.
Lashing out at the AAP government, Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal said under CM Mann's failed leadership, Punjab is gripped by "shocking lawlessness".
"Two @AamAadmiParty sarpanches from Tarn Taran district brutally murdered at wedding functions in just weeks: Jharmal Singh gunned down on January 4 in Amritsar, and now Harbrinder Singh shot dead today in Tarn Taran. I express condolences with the bereaved families.
"Punjab witnessed 25 murders in January 2026 alone, and February is also seeing daily killings. No place is safe-- wedding palaces, courts, temples, gurdwaras, colleges-- nothing! This is anarchy, not governance," he alleged.
Mann has no right to remain in the chair even for a single more day, Badal said.