New Delhi: The BJP on Friday accused Punjab Police of "abducting" its leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga, and alleged that AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal is pursuing vendetta through the state police.
Addressing a press conference, Delhi BJP leaders, including its state unit president Adesh Gupta, slammed Kejriwal and said Bagga had been picked up for "unmasking" his lies. The Delhi chief minister had claimed that his party will get back at those targeting it once it gets control over police, Gupta said.
"It is said that if you want to see someone's real face, give that person power. The real character and face of Kejriwal has now come to the fore," he said. He also alleged that Bagga was insulted by Punjab Police personnel as they did not allow him to wear his turban and roughed up his father.
BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa alleged that a Sikh, a reference to Bagga, has been "insulted" despite Punjab having a Sikh chief minister in Bhagwant Mann.
Kejriwal is taking Punjab back to the politics of 1980s which was marred by militancy, he said, adding that the BJP fully stands with Bagga.
Another Delhi BJP leader, Nupur Sharma, cited a court ruling to say that police from another state must inform the local police before making any arrest. Punjab Police's action, she said, was illegal as it did not inform its Delhi counterparts.
Meanwhile, Delhi Police has registered a case of abduction against Punjab cops following a complaint by Bagga's family.
Meanwhile, the AAP on Friday claimed Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga has been arrested from Delhi by the Punjab Police for trying to stoke communal tension and violence in the border state and rejected the BJP's charge of vendetta.
Though AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj referred to the clashes in Patiala on April 29, the Punjab Police said it arrested the Delhi BJP spokesperson from his residence in the national capital in connection with a case registered in Mohali on April 1.
The April 1 FIR referred to Bagga's remarks on March 30, when he was part of a BJP youth wing protest outside the Delhi chief minister's residence.
Defending the Punjab Police's action, Bharadwaj told a press conference that the state police registered a case against Bagga last month after the BJP leader, through his social media posts, "tried to create communal tension and incite violence in the state".
"Because of such statements, the Punjab Police lodged an FIR and now arrested Bagga. His statements were communal in nature. A lot of BJP-linked people were instigating the violence in Patiala," Bhardwaj alleged.
The April 1 FIR was registered under relevant IPC sections, including 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place, etc.), 505 (whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report) and 506 (criminal intimidation). Bagga had come under fire from the AAP, which is ruling both Delhi and Punjab, for his tweet against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over 'The Kashmir Files' movie.
After Bagga's arrest, the BJP accused the Punjab Police of "abducting" him and alleged that AAP national convenor leader Arvind Kejriwal was pursuing vendetta through the state police.
Launching a counterattack, Bharadwaj said the Punjab Police arrested Bagga only after he did not join the investigation despite five summons.
"There is no vendetta. The Punjab Police is doing its work impartially," he said, dismissing the BJP's allegations of vindictive action as "absolutely wrong".
The AAP spokesperson alleged the BJP sees politics and vendetta behind the arrest of Bagga because it has been "misusing" state machinery for political gains. "It's BJP's and not any other political party's modus operandi," he charged.