Tension prevailed outside the BJP office here on Sunday after workers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the BJP came face to face during a protest. The AAP Ludhiana unit was holding a demonstration against the arrest of Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora when the situation escalated.
Leaders from both parties shouted slogans against each other. During the incident, a BJP worker sustained injuries to his hand and suffered bleeding, officials said.
BJP workers also threw brooms at AAP workers. Women workers of AAP also participated in large numbers in the protest.
Senior BJP leaders, including State General Secretary Anil Sarin, District President Rajneesh Dhiman and Parveen Bansal, were present at the site and led the party response.
The atmosphere became tense at Dana Mandi on Gill Road when AAP workers burnt an effigy of the BJP to protest against recent ED raids in Punjab ahead of Assembly elections.
A heavy police force was deployed to tackle any untoward situation. When AAP workers tried to barge into the BJP office, the saffron party workers raised slogans against AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, carrying party flags.
Jatinder Khangura, President of AAP Ludhiana Urban and Chairman of the Planning and Finance Committee, condemned the action by central agencies. He alleged that the central government is misusing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to suppress the voices of opposition leaders.
Khangura said that Arora’s arrest is “illegal” and an “attack on democracy,” alleging poltical vendetta by the Centre.
“We oppose the central government’s repressive policies and actions taken out of political vendetta. The BJP government is rattled by AAP’s growing popularity and public welfare work. We will take to the streets against this,” he said.
