2nd time in 3 days, Punjab Police block BJP from holding camps
The Punjab Police on Sunday stopped BJP leaders and workers across the state from holding awareness camps under the party’s public outreach programme, the second such statewide crackdown in the past three days.
Several BJP leaders accused the state’s AAP government of “forcibly suppressing” their outreach drive.
The police action has stemmed from a government order that had four days ago ordered the force to take action against “unauthorised individuals” collecting personal data of people, “allegedly on behalf of political parties”.
The state police had halted the party’s awareness camps at 39 locations and detained over 100 BJP leaders in a crackdown on Thursday.
The party, however, claimed that its public outreach programme — BJP de Sewadar aa Gaye ne Tuhade Dwar — only aimed at spreading awareness about the central schemes, contrary to the AAP government’s contention that the collection of people’s personal data may lead to frauds.
The political slugfest intensified on Saturday when Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and BJP leaders sparred over the distribution of subsidised ration to the poor through the public distribution system under the National Food Security Act.
On Sunday, Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar described as “misleading” Chief Minister Mann’s remarks that the Centre wanted omission of lakhs of households receiving subsidised ration in the state.
He said Union Minister Pralhad Joshi had a day before clarified that the inclusion or exclusion of beneficiaries falls under the state government’s purview and the Centre had no role in it.
He said the Centre had only asked for the re-verification of the beneficiaries to ensure that ineligible person do not receive the benefit, leaving large number of needy out of its ambit.
Jakhar assured that people currently receiving subsidised ration under the central scheme will continue to do so and the Centre has not removed anyone’s name from the list.
State BJP working president Ashwani Sharma accused the Punjab Government of blocking information about the central plans.
‘Anti-people agenda’
“This exposes its anti-common man agenda,” said Ashwani Sharma, slamming the police action against the party’s outreach programme.
The party said the police stopped its leaders and workers from holding awareness camps in Fazilka, Dasuya, Amargarh, Mohali, Ropar, Barnala, Muktsar and Patiala villages.
In Fazilka’s Amarpura village, the police detained former minister Surjit Jiyani, Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar and district BJP president Kaka Kamboj, along with several workers.
At Dasuya’s Haler village, the police confiscated laptops from a camp site, prompting protests by former state BJP president Shwait Malik and other party members.
The police turned Amargarh’s Manak Majra village into a virtual cantonment and detained BJP state general secretary Anil Sareen with other leaders.
In Mohali’s Mullapur village, state BJP vice-president Subhash Sharma was detained and taken to the Dera Bassi police station.
In Sujanpur constituency’s Chak Madho Singh village, former state deputy speaker Dinesh Singh Babbu led a protest amid rain after the police blocked their plans.
‘New conditions imposed’
Ropar: Meanwhile AAP’s Ropar MLAs — Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains, Dinesh Chadha and Charanjit Singh — accused the Centre of trying to strike off names of more than 53 lakh beneficiaries from the foodgrain scheme.
Bains said the Centre had asked the Punjab Government to verify ration cardholders in the state. The government has already completed KYC of about 88 per cent of the cardholders and the verification of the rest would be done soon, he said.
He alleged that the Centre was “imposing” new conditions too, which would lead to the exclusion of 53 lakh beneficiaries.
Bains said the new conditions would lead to the omission of those having 2.5 acres of land and owning a second-hand car.
Punjab