A protest over the recent death of 1984 anti-Sikh riots convict Sajjan Kumar turned ugly in Ludhiana on Tuesday with workers of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP clashing outside the latter’s office near Dana Mandi. Members of both parties raised slogans and targeted each other through posters.
“Three crore Punjabis have now seen what the BJP stands for. He alleged that while the BJP was attempting to project Sikh faces in its ranks, its leaders were simultaneously expressing condolences over Kumar’s death. Three of its MPs went to pay tributes to Sajjan Kumar, the man accused of killing Sikhs during the 1984 massacre,” Pappi said.
BJP leader Gurdeep Singh Gosha claimed the AAP’s protest had exposed its declining support in Punjab. Gosha also targeted chief minister Bhagwant Mann also. He demanded that AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and Mann apologise to Punjabis for their political association with the Congress, which he accused of being responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh violence.
AAP MLA Rajinderpal Kaur Chhina also targeted the BJP and Congress, accusing both parties of being “anti-Punjab”. She said protesting outside the BJP office was the democratic right of AAP workers and rejected allegations that the ruling party workers had indulged in hooliganism. He said that despite being in power, the party could not mobilise even 50 people for the demonstration and alleged that its leaders were “panicking” over the public response to the BJP. Defending the BJP, Gosha said it was the Narendra Modi government that had ensured Kumar’s imprisonment, while also highlighting the opening of the Kartarpur Corridor and the observance of Veer Bal Diwas in memory of the younger Sahibzadas.
