Punjab BJP leaders on Friday faced massive protests by the agitating farmers over the party functions to celebrate the 96th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee at the time when the thousands of agriculturists were braving chill at Delhi borders for a month now.
Farmers, up in arms against the saffron party for forcefully imposing three farm laws and demanding to revoke the same, disrupted the BJP’s events and gheraoed the leaders at several parts of Punjab, including Bathinda, Fazilka, Phagwara, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Jalandhar, among others.
As per reports, the farmers protest forced the BJP leaders to escape from the backdoor under police protection in Phagwara, while they allegedly ransacked the venue of the event in Bathinda. In Jalandhar, the farmers were lathi-charged during a protest outside BJP leader’s residence.
At Bathinda, the agitated farmers reached the spot where the BJP workers were going to hold a function to celebrate the birth anniversary and allegedly manhandled them and pelted them with stones. As the farmers reached the spot, the BJP workers could be seen running away from the spot in a video which is going viral on the social media.
The farmers allegedly broke chairs and even pelted stones at the event. Police reached the spot and had to use mild force to disperse the protestors. Later, the farmers staged on sit-in protest there.
Farmer union BKU (Ekta Ugrahan) district senior vice president Mothu Kotra said: “The farmers are sitting in the open despite severe cold on the Delhi borders and the BJP was celebrating something here. As a mark of protest we didn't allow them to mark the function.”
“Moreover, our protests against state BJP leaders have been going on for over three months,” he said adding that it has been decided that till these farm bills are not taken back, we would not allow BJP to hold any function in Punjab.
Later, the BJP leaders burnt the effigy of the State Government in the city.
Likewise, the farmers didn't allow the BJP to hold a similar event in Jalandhar city, where the police used force against them.
As per reports, several farmers of the Bharti Kisan Union (Rajewal) received minor injuries during a standoff between the police and farmers outside the residence of former Cabinet Minister and BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia in Jalandhar.
To prevent the farmers from breaking through the barricades, the police used force which resulted in some leaders receiving minor injuries. Some farmer leaders were chased away, manhandled and lathi charged while during the commotion the turbans of some leaders also came off.
Ealrier, the farmers had gheraod a palace in Jalandhar Cantonment area to protest against a programme being held to commemorate former BJP leader Vajpayee’s on his birth anniversary.
In another incident, the Bharti Kisan Union (Doaba) activists gheraoed local BJP leaders who had gathered at a local hotel to observe Vajpayee’s birth anniversary, forcing them to slip out from the backdoor under police protection.
Led by Union's vice-president Kirpal Singh Mussapur, a number of activists held a protest outside the hotel and gheraoed those BJP leaders and workers who had managed to get inside before farmers started their demonstration.
The protesters also did not allow several BJP activists, including Bharati Sharma, district president of BJP's Mahila Wing, to go inside the hotel, the police said.
Those who had gone inside had to slip one by one from the hotel's backdoor under police protection in order to save themselves from the wrath of the protesters, the police said. They included BJP district and block presidents Rakesh Duggal and Paramjit Singh Pamma Chachoki and former Mayor Arun Khosla.
Mussapur alleged that BJP's programme and anti-farmers' propaganda were being done under the garb of Vajpayee Jayanti celebration.
In Muktsar, the farmers staged protest outside the venue of Vajpayee’s birthday celebration programme of BJP in Muktsar town, and later gheraoed the shop of BJP’s Muktsar district president Rajesh Pathela.
Meanwhile, a BJP leader's house was also gheraoed in Gidderbaha as well. It has been learnt that BJP leaders cancelled birthday celebration event in Gidderbaha.
COMPLETE ANARCHY IN PUNJAB, CONG TRYING TO THROTTLE BJP: CHUGH
Reacting to an assault on BJP workers celebrating Atal Behari Vajpayee’s birthday, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Friday said that complete anarchy is prevailing in Punjab where law and order is in the hands of goons and the police have become a silent and helpless onlooker.
Chugh said that the Amarinder Singh Government has been playing vicious games against the BJP and its complete breakdown of law and order in Punjab.
“BJP workers are being assaulted, attacks were engineered on me and Punjab BJP president Ashwani Sharma, BJP offices were set on fire,” alleged Chugh while lambasting the Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for instigating the Congress workers to indulge in violence against the BJP workers.
Expressing grave concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in which the BJP workers are facing threats to their life, Chugh urged the Punjab Governor VPS Badnore to take action against the Amarinder Government.
Chugh, in a letter to the Governor, said that there was a serious constitutional crisis in Punjab where the BJP was not allowed to work democratically.
“Such attacks would strengthen the BJP resolve to fight the inimical forces vigorously. The attempt of the Congress to throttle the BJP in Punjab would be met determinedly by the BJP workers,” he added.