‘Crackdown’ on BJP a ploy to help it gain traction: Punjab Congress

Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Thursday said the “police crackdown” on the BJP’s outreach programme was a ploy by ruling AAP to help the party gain a foothold in the state, where the drive would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

The state Congress chief made the remark on a day several BJP leaders were detained in the state while holding camps to apprise people of party-led Centre’s welfare programmes.

The development took place a day after the AAP government ordered action against “unauthorised individuals” collecting personal data of people, “allegedly on behalf of political parties”.

Though the directions did not mention any party’s name, the BJP accused the government of “forcibly stopping” its public outreach programme.

Reacting to it, Warring also accused ruling AAP and the BJP of acting in sync ahead of the crucial 2027 Assembly polls, hoping to counter the threat posed by the Congress to them.

“AAP is trying to support and strengthen the BJP in the hope that it can challenge the Congress,” he said terming the alleged crackdown on the BJP outreach programme a “friendly match” between the two parties.

He alleged that both parties had a similar agenda, which was clear when the AAP government ordered the “brutal removal” of farmers who were protesting at the state’s border points with Haryana over the demand for an assured price of crops.

Warring also equated the now-withdrawn land pooling policy with the three farm laws that were scrapped by the BJP-led Centre following year-long protests against by farmers.