Punjab Police Blocks BJP’s Awareness Camps for the Second Time in 3 Days, Over 100 Leaders Detained

Chandigarh : Punjab Police on Sunday stopped BJP leaders and workers across the state from holding awareness camps as part of the party’s public outreach program. This marked the second crackdown within the past three days. Over 100 BJP leaders were detained during the operation.

Several BJP leaders accused the state’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of “forcibly suppressing” their outreach efforts. The police action follows a government order issued four days ago, which directed the force to take action against “unauthorized individuals” collecting personal data on behalf of political parties.

Earlier, the police had stopped BJP’s camps at 39 locations and detained over 100 leaders during a similar crackdown on Thursday. The party, however, clarified that its outreach program, titled BJP de Sewadar aa Gaye ne Tuhade Dwar, was meant to spread awareness about central government schemes. The AAP government, however, argued that the collection of personal data could potentially lead to fraud.

Political Tensions Escalate:
The political war of words intensified on Saturday, with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and BJP leaders clashing over the distribution of subsidized ration under the National Food Security Act. Punjab BJP President Sunil Jakhar dismissed as “misleading” CM Mann’s statement suggesting that the Centre wanted to exclude millions of households from the ration list in the state. He pointed out that Union Minister Pralhad Joshi had clarified that the inclusion or exclusion of beneficiaries is the state’s responsibility and that the Centre only sought re-verification to avoid ineligible people receiving benefits.

BJP Slams AAP Government for Blocking Information:
State BJP working president Ashwani Sharma accused the Punjab Government of blocking information regarding central schemes. He called it an “anti-people agenda” and criticized the police action against the party’s outreach program.

The police stopped BJP leaders and workers from holding awareness camps in several districts including Fazilka, Dasuya, Amargarh, Mohali, Ropar, Barnala, Muktsar, and Patiala. In Fazilka’s Amarpura village, former minister Surjit Jiyani, Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar, and district BJP president Kaka Kamboj were detained along with several workers.

In Dasuya’s Haler village, police confiscated laptops from a camp, sparking protests from former state BJP president Shwait Malik and others. Meanwhile, in Amargarh’s Manak Majra village, police turned the area into a virtual cantonment and detained BJP state general secretary Anil Sareen and other leaders.

In Mohali’s Mullapur village, state BJP vice-president Subhash Sharma was detained and taken to the Dera Bassi police station. A protest was also held in Chak Madho Singh village, Sujanpur constituency, led by former deputy speaker Dinesh Singh Babbu.

AAP’s Response:
Ropar’s AAP legislators—Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains, Dinesh Chadha, and Charanjit Singh—accused the Centre of attempting to exclude more than 53 lakh beneficiaries from the foodgrain scheme. Bains said the Punjab Government had completed KYC for 88% of the beneficiaries and would soon complete the verification of the rest.