A phone call allegedly made by a person impersonating Union Home Minister Amit Shah to AAP MP Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal on his birthday Friday sparked political buzz in Punjab, with the first-time parliamentarian saying he was “surprised” and that he had informed the Hoshiarpur police.

According to Hoshiarpur police, Chabbewal lodged a complaint, stating that he received a phone call from an unknown number, during which a person said that Amit Shah wanted to speak to him. Later, someone spoke to him and claimed to be Amit Shah, the MP said in his complaint.

Chabbewal, who represents Hoshairpur in Lok Sabha, said he received the call around 8.45 am. “A person first asked if I was Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal. When I said yes, he said the ‘Home Minister’ wanted to speak to me. Another person then came on the line, wished me a happy birthday and asked where I was. I said Hoshiarpur. He then told me to meet him in Delhi whenever I come. I said okay,” he said.

He added that while the voice did not match Amit Shah’s, he suspected it was a fake call. “It came from a mobile number, not a hidden or official line. I immediately informed the SSP, and the matter is being investigated,” he said.

Chabbewal said it was unclear whether it was a prank or had another motive, but stressed that it should be probed.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Sandeep Kumar Malik, SSP, Hoshiarpur, said they received a complaint from the MP in the morning regarding the phone call he received. “We are examining the complaint and will get technical inputs regarding the phone number which has been mentioned by the MP. Further action on the complaint will be taken as per the results of the investigation,” said Malik.

The incident has sparked discussion in political circles, especially amid ongoing political churn and speculation about shifting loyalties ahead of the Punjab Assembly election due next year.

Soon after the defection of six Rajya Sabha MPs of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab, there has been widespread speculation on whether its three Lok Sabha members — Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal (Hoshiarpur), Malwinder Singh Kang (Anandpur Sahib), and Gurmeet Singh ‘Meet’ Hayer (Sangrur) — will also jump ship.

From Congress to AAP

Dr Chabbewal is a former two-time MLA of the Congress party and a radiologist. He joined the Congress in 2009, quit the party in 2024 ahead of the general elections and joined the AAP. He was appointed chairperson of the Congress party’s Scheduled Caste (SC) Department in Punjab in 2015 and served until 2024. He was also a member of the All India Congress Committee.

In the 2012 Punjab Assembly elections, he contested from Chabbewal Assembly constituency but lost. He won his first term as MLA from the Chabbewal (Reserved) constituency in 2017. In the 2019 general elections, Congress fielded him from the Hoshiarpur (Reserved) constituency, but he lost to the BJP’s Som Parkash by about 48,530 votes.

In the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls, he secured re-election from Chabbewal, emerging as the only Congress winner in Hoshiarpur district, which has seven assembly segments.

On April 10, 2022, he was appointed Deputy Leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in the Punjab Assembly. As an Opposition leader, he was known for his vocal criticism of the AAP government, particularly on issues like law and order, education, healthcare, drug abuse, and state debt. He made symbolic protests in the Assembly, such as carrying a chain to highlight governance failures.

On March 15, 2024, Chabbewal resigned from the Congress party, the Punjab Assembly, and his position as Deputy CLP Leader. He joined the Aam Aadmi Party the same day, inducted by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

The AAP fielded him from the Hoshiarpur Lok Sabha seat, which he won with 303,859 votes, defeating Congress candidate Yamini Gomar by a margin of 44,111 votes.

His son, Dr Ishank Kumar Chabbewal, was fielded by the AAP in the bypoll for the Assembly seat vacated by his father and won it by a margin of 28,690 votes.