North India Statesman
Tensions flared in Ludhiana on Saturday when senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu was detained by Punjab Police outside the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) gate. The incident occurred as Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s official cavalcade was arriving to inaugurate the annual two-day Kisan Mela. Staging an aggressive demonstration right along the Chief Minister’s transit corridor, Bittu waved a liquor bottle and attempted to fling eggs and tomatoes toward Mann’s passing vehicles, prompting heavy police deployment to intervene swiftly, take the BJP leader into preventive custody, and ensure the safe passage of the Chief Minister’s convoy.
Retaliation for the Batala Attack on ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’
Addressing media personnel prior to his detention, Bittu framed his direct protest as a symbolic act of political retaliation. Just a day earlier, on Friday, Bittu’s own convoy was allegedly ambushed near Batala while he was traveling to Pathankot to launch the BJP’s statewide ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’. During that incident, miscreants allegedly pelted his motorcade with stones, eggs, and tomatoes, damaging escort and jammer vehicles. Bittu directly accused ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers of orchestrating the physical ambush to intimidate political opponents and derail the BJP’s anti-drug awareness campaign.
Bitter War of Words Erupts Between BJP and AAP
During the demonstration at the PAU gates, Bittu openly taunted the Chief Minister, stating that he was “returning the eggs and tomatoes” hurled at his own cavalcade twenty-four hours earlier. Holding up a bottle of alcohol toward the convoy, the BJP leader made scathing personal allegations against the state leadership, claiming the administration was failing to contain Punjab’s illicit drug and alcohol networks while actively using state machinery to clamp down on democratic opposition. Bittu declared that BJP cadres would not be deterred by police detentions and would continue to stage black-flag protests outside government events across the state.
Escalating Political Friction Ahead of Assembly Contests
The standoff in Ludhiana highlights the intensifying political friction between the ruling AAP administration and an assertive state BJP unit. While police officials confirmed that Bittu was taken into custody to avert a major breach of VIP security and maintain public order before being subsequently released, the confrontation has triggered widespread political mudslinging across the state. Punjab BJP leadership has demanded strict action and registration of FIRs against the individuals involved in the Batala convoy attack, while AAP functionaries have dismissed the demonstration as a desperate, disruptive publicity stunt designed to create chaos during a major agricultural festival.
