CHANDIGARH, July 13— The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after its leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa made remarks allegedly supporting gangsters involved in the recent murder of cloth merchant Sanjay Verma in Abohar.
In response, AAP held demonstrations across Punjab on Saturday, staging protests in major cities including Jalandhar, Pathankot, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Patiala and Abohar. Ministers, MLAs, and senior party leaders took part in the coordinated protests, according to an official party statement.
“This is not just a political issue—it’s about justice and the rule of law,” said an AAP spokesperson. “The BJP is openly siding with gangsters, which reveals their real stance on law and order in Punjab.”
AAP leaders accused the BJP-led Centre of shielding notorious gangster Lawrence Bishnoi for political gains. “On one hand, the BJP cries foul over the law-and-order situation in Punjab; on the other hand, when our government takes action against gangsters, BJP leaders defend them. This hypocrisy won’t be tolerated,” the statement read.
The party reaffirmed its support for Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s ongoing crackdown on organized crime and warned against what it called interference from the Centre. “The Mann government is committed to rooting out gangsters from Punjab. We will not allow any external pressure to derail our efforts,” the release added.
Targeting opposition parties, AAP further alleged that the BJP, Shiromani Akali Dal, and the Congress were lashing out at AAP due to their fading political relevance in the state. “These parties are rattled by their shrinking influence in Punjab. Their attempts to malign the AAP government are desperate and baseless,” the spokesperson said.
The party reiterated that its stand against crime and corruption remains uncompromised and that no political force would be allowed to derail Punjab’s law enforcement drive.
