The AAP on Sunday launched anti-BJP protests across Punjab over the ED action against state minister Sanjeev Arora, accusing the Centre of misusing investigative agencies against its leaders.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers staged demonstrations and gheraoed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) offices at district headquarters across Punjab, raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government.
AAP’s protests came a day after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Arora in connection with an alleged ₹157-crore money-laundering case involving certain entities linked to him.
The Punjab power minister was taken into custody from his official residence in Sector 2, Chandigarh, on Saturday following fresh raids at his residence and the corporate offices of Hampton Sky Realty Limited, a firm run by the businessman-turned-politician’s family.
On Sunday, protests were held in various districts, including Amritsar, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Ferozepur, Hoshiarpur, Patiala and Mohali, where AAP leaders accused the BJP of using investigative agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and income tax department as “political weapons” to intimidate elected governments and silence opposition voices
Carrying placards, the protesters raised slogans against the Modi government and accused the BJP of attempting to crush every political force that refuses to bow before it.
Also Read: AAP hits streets across Punjab over ED action on Arora
In Patiala, cabinet minister Dr Balbir Singh led the protest march and strongly criticised the BJP for indulging in “politics of fear and intimidation.”
Addressing the protesters, Dr Singh said, “The BJP’s politics revolves around threats, raids and coercion. They first pressured Punjab’s Rajya Sabha MPs and later targeted cabinet ministers when AAP refused to surrender before the Centre. They thought Punjab could be bullied through ED, CBI and Income Tax raids. But Punjabis have a history of standing against oppression and they will give a befitting reply to the BJP.”
Dr Singh further said, “Why did raids against Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal stop after he joined the BJP? This exposes the real face of the BJP. Agencies become active only against those who oppose them politically. The moment someone joins BJP, all investigations disappear.”
AAP, BJP workers clash in Ludhiana
In Ludhiana, a scuffle broke out between AAP and BJP workers during a protest outside the saffron party’s district office near the grain market on Gill Road.
AAP workers were protesting against Arora’s arrest near the BJP office when the workers of the saffron party arrived at the spot and staged a counter-protest. The situation escalated into a heated argument and scuffle between supporters of both parties.
Also Read: Ludhiana: AAP misusing police, will hold protest today, says BJP
Punjab BJP general secretary Anil Sareen alleged that the AAP workers attacked the activists of the opposition party, leaving four of them injured.
Tempers ran high in Bathinda as well after AAP activists led by party legislators Balkar Sidhu (Rampura Phul) and Sukhveer Singh Maisarkhana (Maur) reached outside the district headquarters of the BJP. Police stepped in and prevented a clash between supporters of the two parties.
AAP workers, with Fazilka MLA Narinder Pal Sawna and Jalalabad MLA Jagdeep Goldy Kamboj, Abohar constituency in-charge Arun Narang and district AAP president Upkar Singh Jakhar, also protested outside the residence of Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar in Subhash Nagar, Abohar.
In Amritsar, AAP staged a demonstration outside BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh’s residence, where they broke through the barricading in protest.
Face-off between AAP MLA, BJP activists in Balachaur
In Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district’s Balachaur, the AAP workers led by Banga MLA Dr Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi came face-to-face with BJP workers during a protest. Police had to intervene to pacify the situation. In a video circulating online, the MLA could be seen snatching the mobile phone of BJP’s district president Rajinder Singh, who was sitting in his office.
Also Read: AAP holds protests, defaces walls of RS members in Jalandhar, Ludhiana
MLA Sukhi said the AAP workers were holding symbolic protest outside the BJP district office in Balachaur when the BJP workers arrived at the spot and started creating nuisance.
“We objected to the microphone brought by the BJP workers as it was disrupting our protest. At this, the BJP workers got infuriated and started passing derogatory remarks. We had gone to the president’s office to have conversation with him, but instead of talking, he started filming a video on his phone, to which I objected,” he said.
On the other hand, BJP district president Rajwinder Singh, said it was the AAP workers led by MLA Sukhi, who started using abusive language outside his office. “We only countered their verbal remarks and asked them to shift their protest to some another place,” he said.
He alleged that the AAP workers tried to assault him physically while he was inside office. “The AAP workers were behaving like goons,” he alleged.
Era of ‘misgovernance’ drawing to a close: Jakhar
Launching a scathing attack on the AAP government, Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar said the era of “misgovernance” in the state was drawing to a close.
Speaking with ANI, Jakhar emphasised that the current era was defined by “Sabka saath, sabka vikas aur sabka hisab (Everyone’s support, development and accountability).”
He predicted a looming “day of reckoning” for those involved in financial irregularities.
Jakhar warned that accountability was inevitable, stating, “Either the ED or the people will ensure it…everyone will be held accountable within six months.”
Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma criticised the “unruly” behaviour of AAP workers and accused the state police of acting under political pressure while facilitating “hooliganism” against party workers.
Talking to reporters in Chandigarh, Sharma warned that the BJP will not tolerate political intimidation or a misuse of the police machinery to divert public attention from corruption allegations against the ruling party’s leaders.
Union minister of state for railways Ravneet Bittu demanded police action against the party leaders and workers. “I will take up the matter with top leadership of BJP in case no action is taken against AAP MLAs and workers for misbehaving with BJP cadres across the state,” Bittu said.
