Chandigarh/Bathinda/Nawanshahr: Tensions flared at multiple places in Punjab on Sunday as AAP workers protesting the arrest of minister Sanjeev Arora by the Enforcement Directorate clashed with BJP workers outside party offices in Bathinda and Balachaur.In Bathinda, AAP and BJP workers came face to face outside the BJP office, forcing police personnel to intervene to prevent violence. A large number of AAP workers led by MLAs Jagroop Singh Gill, Balkar Singh Sidhu and Sukhbir Singh Maiserkhana gathered near the BJP office to protest against Arora’s arrest.As AAP workers marched towards the office, BJP workers led by district president Sarup Chand Singla came out raising slogans. The confrontation escalated after BJP workers brought brooms and began separating and throwing broomsticks while shouting, “Jhadu teela teela ho gya hai”, mocking AAP’s election symbol. The act angered AAP workers, who attempted to move towards BJP workers before police intervened and diffused the situation.“The BJP govt at the Centre is using the ED to harass opponents. Central agencies are being used as political tools, and AAP will oppose this tooth and nail,” said MLA Balkar Singh Sidhu.A similar confrontation unfolded in Balachaur, where AAP workers led by Banga MLA Dr Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi and Balachaur MLA Santosh Kataria staged a protest outside the BJP’s district office. Heated exchanges broke out between the protesters and BJP Nawanshahr district president Rajwinder Lucky.Punjab BJP also shared CCTV footage of the incident on social media, showing Sukhi entering the BJP office while Lucky recorded the scene on his phone. As Sukhi approached him, he appeared to push away the phone, triggering a verbal altercation.Lucky alleged that AAP workers had forcibly entered the BJP office and indulged in “gundagardi”. “We did not invite them. They entered forcibly and created a ruckus,” he told TOI. He also accused AAP workers of taking away the BJP’s public address system.Sukhi, however, alleged that BJP workers provoked AAP supporters by calling them “chor” and “trolley chor” over the public address system. He claimed BJP leaders later invited them inside for talks but continued recording videos to portray them negatively.“When I objected to the recording and gestured for him to stop, they tried to project it as forcible entry. It was a conspiracy to create a scene,” Sukhi alleged.
