The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal is responsible for the rising crime rates and deteriorating law and order situation in Punjab, state Congress leader Charanjit Singh Channi said on Wednesday. He said Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal should be immediately removed from his post for the failure of the state's home ministry that he helms, The Hindu reported.

Addressing a press conference, Channi said, "We demand a special discussion on the deterioration of the law and order situation across the state in the forthcoming session of the Assembly. Mr Sukhbir Badal has failed in his role as Home Minister and was directly responsible for the rising crime in the state." He said crime has multiplied in the state in the past nine years, so Sukhbir has no moral right to continue. “Punjab witnessed on average two murder cases every day, with a figure of 4,460 in 15 districts, which is shocking for a ‘peaceful’ state,” he said.

Punjab will hold Assembly elections in 2017. On Wednesday, Sukhbir claimed there was a wave in the state in favour of the party, even as his father and state's chief minister, Parkash Singh Badal, admitted that the Aam Aadmi Party was mushrooming in Punjab, reported NDTV.

Sukhbir said the state's youth will play an integral role in the upcoming elections, according to The Tribune. About the main opposition, Congress, he said, "Whatever strategy the Congress may choose, its total rout from Punjab as in the entire country is inevitable."

Training his guns on the Arvind Kejriwal-led party, Parkash Singh Badal on Tuesday said, "I urge the people of Punjab not to blindly justify the sinister moves of these parties as both these parties are inimical to the interests of the state and are constantly working against the interests of its people."