Chandigarh, Sept. 12 -- The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab has faced bad news before, but rarely with such relentless frequency. The latest blow came with the arrest of Khadoor Sahib MLA Manjinder Singh Lalpura, a young and influential leader, convicted along with 10 others in a 12-year-old case for molesting and assaulting a Scheduled Caste woman. His arrest followed just days after a rape and cheating case was registered against another party leader, Sanaur MLA Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, who escaped from Patiala police custody in Haryana's Karnal shortly after being detained. The back-to-back cases of crimes against women have emerged at a time when the AAP government is grappling with the state's worst floods in four decades and the resentment over its controversial (now-withdrawn) land pooling policy. These developments of recent months have not only tarnished the ruling party's public image, but also left its leadership embarrassed. Lalpura, AAP's Majha zone vice-president and a former state youth wing head, is the fifth party MLA - and third this year - in Punjab to be arrested by the state police or vigilance bureau (VB) during the present government's tenure. The VB had arrested Jalandhar Central MLA Raman Arora on May 24 this year in corruption case that also involved a municipal corporation official, Bathinda Rural AAP MLA Amit Rattan Kotfatta in a graft case in February 2023, and the then health minister and Mansa MLA Vijay Singla on corruption charges in May 2022. Though AAP leaders have sought to portray the cases against these MLAs as evidence of the government's commitment to a 'zero-tolerance policy' on wrongdoing, these controversies have become fodder for the opposition. Leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said that the AAP government now stands exposed for its lack of morality and accountability, pointing out that several of its leaders are facing allegations of grave misconduct. Another Congress leader, former MLA Kuljit Singh Nagra, termed these cases as "shameful, but not surprising," asking how many more such people would the AAP shelter. AAP state president Aman Arora dismissed the criticism, stating that chief minister Bhagwant Mann had taken a principled stand by acting against the Jalandhar Central MLA accused of corruption. "As for Lalpura and Pathanmajra, those were the consequences of their personal actions. These things do affect the party, but people also appreciate that the government did not protect any of them," he said. The AAP government's troubles began with the notification of the land pooling policy in May this year to acquire 65,533 acres of land in Ludhiana and other urban pockets of the state for "planned development." The move sparked a fierce backlash, with farmers, NGOs, and opposition parties staging protests. In several villages, boards and banners were put up barring the entry of the ruling party leaders, even as the state government vehemently defended the policy. However, after the Punjab and Haryana high court stayed implementation of the policy, questioning the decision to acquire land without environmental and social impact assessments, the state government, forced onto the back foot, withdrew it. The government's handling of flood preparedness, particularly desilting and strengthening of embankments, also did not do any good to its image. A senior AAP leader conceded that the land pooling fiasco, coupled with misconduct allegations against MLAs, has hurt the government's public perception. "Though we managed to limit the damage by quickly rolling back the policy, public perception needs to be improved. For this, the government should revive campaigns such as Yudh Nashian Virudh and Shiksha Kranti and ensure an effective rollout of the Rs.10 lakh health cover under the 'Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojana, scheduled to be launched on October 2," he said, requesting anonymity. The state government is also bracing for its next major challenge - providing relief to 3.88 lakh people across 2,214 villages ravaged by floods. According to the official flood bulletin, the death toll stands at 55, while crops on 1.92 lakh hectares have been damaged. The state government's relief and rehabilitation efforts would influence the public perception in the next few months....