In a dramatic political move ahead of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s arrival at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu staged a protest by “gifting” a bottle of liquor to the Chief Minister outside Gate No. 8 of the campus.
Holding the bottle along with tomatoes, Bittu declared that Mann should “enjoy his liquor” and allow AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal to run Punjab from Delhi. The gesture was accompanied by a hurriedly arranged press conference, which Bittu’s media team alerted journalists to just minutes before the Chief Minister’s arrival.
Bittu also displayed eggs and tomatoes that his party workers had thrown at his cavalcade the previous day, claiming he had brought the leftovers to highlight the ruling party’s actions. He alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was opposing the BJP’s ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’ by waving black flags and warned that if such protests continued, AAP would face similar consequences.
When asked whether his actions could lead to an FIR, Bittu insisted he had not attacked anyone, unlike AAP leaders who, he alleged, had assaulted BJP workers. “If an FIR is to be registered against me, then similar action should be taken against AAP MLAs and leaders for attacking members of other political parties,” he said.
Bittu further added that while he could retaliate in the same manner, the BJP would “never stoop so low.” His remarks and symbolic protest have added fuel to the ongoing political tensions between the BJP and AAP in Punjab.