LUDHIANA, June 3: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday ridiculed the BJP’s symbolic distribution of sindoor (vermilion) in Ludhiana, linking it to the ruling party’s Operation Sindoor campaign against Pakistan and quipping whether the saffron party had launched a “one nation, one husband” scheme.
Mann’s remarks came in response to a media query about the BJP’s ongoing campaign for the upcoming Ludhiana West Assembly by-election, slated for June 19. “If they are sending sindoor, which husband would tell his wife to apply the sindoor sent by Modi?” Mann asked, adding, “Has the BJP started a ‘one nation, one husband’ initiative now?”
The chief minister’s comments were soon amplified by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Neel Garg, who questioned the appropriateness of the BJP using marital symbols in its campaign. “The right to give sindoor to a woman lies only with her husband, not a political party,” Garg said. “Has the BJP assumed the right to distribute sindoor on behalf of Indian women?”
The BJP swiftly condemned the remarks, calling them deeply disrespectful to both the Army and Indian cultural symbols. Reacting strongly, BJP leader Pritpal Singh Balliawal accused Mann of trivializing a counter-terrorism operation rooted in national tragedy.
“He is mocking Operation Sindoor. The BJP is not distributing sindoor to every household,” Balliawal said. “The operation was named after terrorists targeted Hindu tourists by identifying sindoor on women’s foreheads. This wasn’t about politics—it was about terrorism, martyrdom, and the protection of Indian lives.”
“Sindoor is not a joke—it represents sacrifice, love, and devotion,” Balliawal added. “A man who mocks the Army, dishonors veer naris, and ridicules sacred symbols will never understand what sindoor truly means.”
The exchange has added heat to an already charged campaign season in Punjab, with the Ludhiana West bypoll emerging as a fresh flashpoint between the AAP and BJP.