Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema launched a fierce attack on the BJP-led Central Government, calling it out for systematically destroying democracy and misusing constitutional institutions to crush opposition parties across the country. He asserted that 3 crore Punjabis will give a befitting reply to BJP for targeting Punjab and announced AAP workers to gherao BJP offices to expose its politics of vendetta and intimidation.
Addressing a press conference, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema stated, “The democracy established through the sacrifices of freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev and Lala Lajpat Rai is under serious threat from BJP today. Punjabis made the highest sacrifices for the country’s freedom and for establishing democracy, but now the Constitution drafted by Babasaheb Dr. B.R. Ambedkar is under attack because of BJP’s dictatorial politics.”
Questioning the role of central agencies, he said, “Wherever elections are due in states ruled by opposition parties, BJP first sends agencies like ED, CBI and the Income Tax Department, and even uses the Election Commission to create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation. These agencies are never used in BJP ruled states because BJP’s only aim is to destabilise opposition governments and silence dissent.”
Targeting BJP over the recent ED action in Punjab, the minister continued, “Immediately after the West Bengal elections, ED shifted its focus to Punjab. BJP is trying to replicate the same model of intimidation and political manipulation in Punjab. ED first targeted businessman and MP Ashok Mittal and pressured him into joining BJP. Soon after, ED reached the residence of Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora. Sanjeev Arora clearly refused to join BJP, and what followed was witnessed by the entire country, day long raids followed by arrest.”
Explaining BJP’s functioning, he revealed, “BJP’s model is simple. Those who get scared join BJP, and those who refuse are sent to jail. BJP is deliberately creating an atmosphere of fear in opposition ruled states to either force leaders into submission or trap them through central agencies. During the West Bengal elections, BJP deleted 90 lakh voters from electoral rolls to capture power. BJP now dreams of repeating similar tactics in Punjab, but Punjabis will never bow before such politics.”
Invoking Punjab’s revolutionary legacy, the Punjab Finance Minister stated, “The blood of revolutionaries and martyrs flows through the veins of Punjabis. The spirit of Shaheed e Azam Bhagat Singh and the martyrs who sacrificed everything for India’s freedom lives within every Punjabi. If BJP continues such actions in Punjab, 3 crore Punjabis will give a befitting reply. He strongly condemned the ED action against Sanjeev Arora and announced that AAP workers and volunteers will stage protests outside BJP headquarters and offices across Punjab on Sunday.
Announcing statewide protests, the AAP leader added, “AAP workers will gherao BJP offices throughout the state to expose how BJP is becoming a threat to democracy and the Constitution by misusing central agencies for political vendetta.”