Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu on Saturday launched a sharp attack on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the state government during the civic poll campaign in Bathinda, alleging that the AAP had resorted to tactics such as making Punjabis speak Hindi and stigmatising them through its drug census exercise.
He also claimed that a cabinet minister had raised the issue of Hindi, saying that 70 per cent of the MLAs were made to speak Hindi.
“These are their tactics, to make Punjabis speak Hindi and label them as drug addicts,” he alleged. He further claimed that public anger against the AAP government was now greater than the resentment people had against political parties in 2017 and 2022.
Defending his remarks on Hindi, Bittu said Punjabi was the “mother tongue”, while Hindi was like a “massi” (maternal aunt), quoting a singer.
He strongly criticised the state government’s drug census exercise, questioning the collection of personal data of addicts. He alleged that labelling individuals as addicts could adversely affect their jobs, driving licences and marriage prospects.
“Data is power nowadays. Why are they collecting such data instead of releasing data on the total number of doctors and nurses in government-run hospitals?” he asked.
Bittu repeatedly targeted AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and senior party leader Manish Sisodia, comparing the party to “gandgi” (filth) and its leaders to “cockroaches”.
He claimed the AAP’s broom was small, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “jetting and suction machines powerful enough to remove any filth and unclog anything”.
Referring to incarcerated former cabinet minister Sanjeev Arora, Bittu alleged that Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and Kejriwal had gone to meet him “not out of empathy, but to ask where money had been stashed”.
He also accused the state government of failing to fulfil promises related to jobs and regularisation of employees, saying even government employees were being forced to approach courts over dearness allowance arrears.
Bittu further termed Amarjit Singh Mehta, chairman of the Punjab Cricket Association, and his son, former Bathinda Mayor Padamjeet Singh Mehta, as the “biggest cheats” of Bathinda.
He further said that local AAP MLA Jagroop Singh Gill and Cabinet Minister Gurmeet Singh Khudian were not even campaigning for party candidates in the civic polls, claiming it sent a message to AAP workers about whom they should support.
Appealing to voters not to support the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) or the Congress, Bittu asserted that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would contest the next Punjab Assembly elections independently.
He said there was no part of the state where the BJP had not fielded candidates in the civic polls, as well as during the panchayat and block samiti elections.
About the SAD, he said the party had “nothing without the BJP in the past” and urged people not to waste votes on its candidates.
Bittu also warned bureaucrats and police officials against acting under political pressure during the elections. He said he would remain in Bathinda on polling day and report any poll-related violations to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
