Tension prevailed in several parts of Punjab on Sunday as clashes and heated confrontations broke out between workers of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the AAP’s protests against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrest of minister Sanjeev Arora.

The protests, organised a day after Arora’s arrest in a money-laundering case, saw confrontations in Balachaur, Ludhiana, and Bathinda, while demonstrations were also held in several other districts.

At Balachaur, located in Nawanshahr district, a heated argument erupted outside the BJP office when AAP workers arrived to protest. The situation escalated after Banga MLA Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi, who had joined the AAP from the Shiromani Akali Dal in March last year, along with AAP supporters, entered the BJP office where BJP district president Rajwinder Singh Lucky was present.

According to video footage of the incident, Lucky was recording the protest and speaking about the issue from inside the office when Sukhi and AAP workers allegedly attempted to snatch his mobile phone. The confrontation soon turned tense before police intervened and escorted most of the AAP workers out of the premises.

During the altercation, Lucky was heard telling police officials, “Take your MLA out of our office or later you will complain that the MLA has been beaten up by BJP workers. Everyone has the right to protest, but no one has the right to enter someone’s office and indulge in hooliganism.”

Punjab BJP working state president Ashwani Sharma later reached Nawanshahr, where he met party workers and also approached the SSP seeking action against the MLA in the incident.

In Bathinda, tension flared outside the BJP office near Mittal Mall after AAP workers, accompanied by MLAs Jagroop Singh Gill, Sukhveer Singh Maiserkhana and Balkar Sidhu, reached the spot to protest. BJP workers, led by district president Sarup Chand Singla, also gathered outside the office.

While BJP workers raised slogans against the government, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Sanjeev Arora, demanding the minister’s resignation, AAP workers countered with slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused the BJP of misusing the ED as a political tool against opposition parties.

As sloganeering intensified from both sides, police formed a human chain to prevent any physical clash between the rival groups. Sources said the protest continued for several minutes before the situation was brought under control.

Slogans and scuffles outside BJP office

A similar confrontation took place in Ludhiana outside the BJP office near Arora Palace grain market, where the BJP alleged that one of its workers sustained minor injuries during a scuffle with AAP supporters.

Rajneesh Dhiman, BJP Ludhiana district president, alleged that BJP leaders and workers had gathered outside the office after receiving information that AAP workers were heading there to protest.

“As we got to know that AAP workers were coming outside our office, around 30-40 of our office-bearers, including me, came outside so as to prevent them from entering our office. However, they started clashing with us, and one of our workers got bruises,” he alleged.

Dhiman claimed that AAP MLAs Ashok Prashar Pappi, Kulwant Sidhu, Hardeep Singh Mundian, and Daljeet Singh Bhola, along with the Ludhiana mayor and other AAP leaders, were present during the incident.

Dhiman further alleged that similar attempts had occurred earlier. “AAP workers had tried to enter our office two or three times, and the police failed to control them. On Sunday as well, the police were protecting them. We do not plan to complain to the police and instead will protest outside the office of the police commissioner on Monday,” he said.

In Abohar, AAP workers, along with MLAs Jagdeep Singh Goldy Kamboj and Narinder Sawna, protested outside the residence of state BJP president Sunil Jakhar. However, no untoward incident was reported there.

Sunil Jakhar warns Arvind Kejriwal

Reacting strongly to the incidents, Jakhar warned AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal against “turning Punjab into Mamata Banerjee’s Bengal”.

In a statement shared on social media, Jakhar alleged that Sukhwinder Sukhi entered the BJP office in Balachaur in the presence of police personnel and assaulted BJP leaders while vandalising the premises.

“Punjab will not be allowed to become Mamata Banerjee’s Bengal,” Jakhar said, adding that action against “corrupt people looting Punjab” would continue.

Jakhar maintained that while the BJP respected everyone’s democratic right to protest, nobody would be allowed to take the law into their own hands. He also alleged that a party born out of an anti-corruption movement was now protesting in support of “corrupt individuals”.

Jakhar demanded immediate and strict action against those involved in the alleged incidents of violence and said video footage clearly showed AAP MLAs entering the BJP office in Balachaur.

Ashwani Sharma also criticised the AAP over the protests and said the incidents exposed the “mask of honesty” worn by the ruling party.

“We are assessing the situation and reviewing what happened. In Ludhiana too, there was a clash in which one of our workers sustained minor injuries. However, we will respond politically and appropriately,” Sharma said.

Meanwhile, AAP workers demonstrated in several districts carrying placards with slogans such as “ED+BJP alliance murdabad” and “Punjab naal dhakka band karo” (stop the discrimination against Punjab), accusing the BJP-led Centre of targeting Punjab and Opposition leaders through central agencies.

Lucky’s remarks provoked AAP workers: MLA

Reacting to the allegations, Banga MLA Sukhi said that AAP workers were protesting outside the BJP office peacefully when the tension escalated.

“On Sunday, AAP workers were protesting outside the BJP office as per our call, and we were protesting without any mic. However, a journalist informed us that Luckyji had said his questions should also be answered. I told them that after our protest, we would respond to their questions,” Sukhi said.

Sukhi alleged that BJP district president Lucky later came outside the office with a mic and started making provocative remarks against AAP leaders and workers.

“He used derogatory remarks against the AAP, calling them ‘trolley chor’ and ‘speaker chor’, which agitated the workers. Despite that, I went inside his office at the insistence of some BJP leaders to sort out the matter peacefully,” he claimed.

The MLA further alleged that Lucky was already conducting a Facebook Live session when he entered the office and again used objectionable remarks against him on his live session.

“I only asked him to keep his mobile phone away and pushed it aside. Nothing else happened. He is trying to present a false picture to the public. I am an MLA because of the people, and if they think I am wrong, they can punish me the way they want. I believe in genuine public service,” he added.

Meanwhile, AAP Ludhiana district president Jatinder Singh Khangura blamed BJP workers for the clashes and alleged that they resorted to hooliganism during the protests and attempted to manhandle AAP workers.

“The Aam Aadmi Party strongly condemns the incident,” Khangura said.

AAP leadership stated that such “authoritarian behaviour” by the BJP would not be tolerated and asserted that the party would continue its fight through legal and democratic means.

Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu, however, accused AAP leaders and workers of promoting violence in Punjab.

“Naked hooliganism under the patronage of the AAP has started in Punjab. Whether it is Ludhiana or any other corner of Punjab, their hooliganism is increasing everywhere. We demand that police immediately register cases against those involved in such acts across Punjab,” Bittu said.

Bittu warned that if action was not taken, BJP workers would intensify their protest. “We will go to any extent to protect the honour of our workers, and the accused will not be spared at any cost. Soon, there will be accountability for every act of hooliganism committed by them,” he said.

Bittu alleged that if police and the DGP failed to act against the accused AAP leaders, he would raise the matter with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and submit video evidence related to the incidents.

“If AAP leaders think they are big goons, let me tell them they will be set right in no time,” he added.