Veteran cricketer and Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh has found himself at the centre of a heated political and social media controversy just weeks after switching from Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and his first major public post on X after this political switch has triggered sharp reactions, strong criticism and a full-scale online debate over politics, governance, and law and order in Punjab.
The controversy began when Harbhajan Singh who had remained silent in public since his party switch nearly three weeks ago shared a news video on his X account related to an alleged kidnapping of a four-year-old girl in Kurali which reportedly happened in front of the child’s grandparents.
Along with the video he wrote “What’s going on in Punjab. I urge @DGPPunjabPolice to see this matter and help the family.”
Soon after his post a user responded with a sharp comment questioning his political position and timing and the user wrote that instead of “lecturing Punjab” he should ask his new political party about rising inflation, unemployment, cooking gas prices and issues faced by farmers and the comment also pointed towards larger public concerns urging attention to economic pressure on ordinary families.
Harbhajan Singh responded directly to the criticism defending his post and questioning the moral angle of the argument and wrote “Kya baat hai sardar ji. Ok mean to say what ever is happening in that video is right? Chalo I hope it doesn’t happen one day with ur own family. Get up and stand up for the right thing. It’s not a matter of any party it’s a matter of humanity. Waheguru tahanu samaj bakshe” and his response immediately triggered a wave of reactions especially from AAP supporters and political critics who began targeting him with harsh comments across social media.
One user brought up a separate law and order case writing that while Harbhajan was speaking about Punjab serious crimes and alleged political protection in other states were being ignored and the user also questioned whether celebrities speak freely or are restricted due to professional contracts and public positions while another commenter shifted the focus to education and competitive exams referring to NEET paper leak issue and user said that if humanity is above politics then similar concern should also be shown for students who prepare for years and suffer due to paper leak controversies demanding fairness and justice in education systems.
As the online debate intensified Harbhajan Singh continued engaging with critics in the comment section and in another exchange when a user questioned him about Punjab’s RDF (Rural Development Fund) issues and government policies he responded that he would raise such concerns but also accused critics of spreading false narratives and misleading people and he also defended his past record in Parliament responding to allegations that he had not spoken enough for Punjab during his earlier political association and said that his contributions are a matter of public record in Rajya Sabha and added that his achievements in cricket allowed him financial independence.