Ludhiana. In the run‑up to Punjab’s assembly polls, political tensions have surged. On Saturday, former Union Minister and BJP figure Ravneet Singh Bittu disrupted Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s program in Ludhiana, leading to his subsequent detention by police.
How the protest unfolded
CM Mann had just concluded a farmers’ fair at the Punjab Agricultural University. As his motorcade prepared to leave, Bittu, flanked by BJP supporters, stepped forward holding a bottle of liquor. He declared he was returning the bottle to the chief minister and used the moment to launch accusations against the ruling AAP government.
Allegations tossed alongside the bottle
Bittu asserted that the state’s drug problem was being ignored and that the BJP would keep highlighting the issue. He also claimed that, during a prior rally in Batala, AAP activists had thrown eggs at his convoy, prompting his security detail to detain three alleged perpetrators.
Link to the Batala episode
According to Bittu, he was traveling to Pathankot on Friday for the BJP’s “Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra” (Drug‑Free Punjab March) when the egg‑throwing incident occurred near Batala. He said police later arrived, restored order, and took the three suspects into custody.
Rationale for the Ludhiana demonstration
During his Ludhiana outburst, Bittu argued that if opposition members could protest against BJP rallies, the BJP likewise had the democratic right to demonstrate against the state government. He alleged that tomatoes were thrown at the chief minister’s convoy during the clash.
Aftermath
Police detained Bittu shortly after the protest. Unfazed, he pledged that the BJP would persist in raising Punjab‑specific concerns and would continue to stage peaceful demonstrations outside the chief minister’s events and government offices whenever deemed necessary.
