BJP, AAP Clash Over Sangrur Convoy Blockade After Labourer's Suicide
BJP and AAP trade charges after a BJP convoy was blocked in Sangrur while visiting the family of a labourer who died by suicide.
A political confrontation has erupted in Punjab after a convoy of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders was stopped from reaching a village in Sangrur district on Thursday, deepening a row over the suicide of a local labourer.
The BJP's Punjab unit chief, Kewal Singh Dhillon, was travelling to Toor Banjara village in Dirba to offer condolences to the family of Gulzar Singh, who died by suicide on Monday. He was accompanied by senior party figures Manpreet Singh Badal, Sunil Jakhar and Ashwani Sharma.
According to the BJP, workers of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, allegedly acting at the direction of their "masters" in Delhi, surrounded Dhillon's vehicle. The party said police stationed roughly 100 metres away did not step in. Dhillon described the incident as an attack on democracy rather than on him personally.
The AAP rejected that account. Health Minister Balbir Singh said the BJP leaders had come to "play politics over the body" and were sent back by the people of Punjab. Accusing the opposition of a "vile mindset", he asked what kind of politics those who see opportunity instead of offering sympathy in times of grief could teach the state. Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia said villagers had shown the BJP its "true reflection" for politicising the pain of a poor Dalit family.
The dispute traces back to Gulzar Singh's death. The labourer had raised the issue of the drugs menace in the state after his son fell victim to it, and is said to have named Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema in an audio clip left behind. His family has since alleged that his cremation was carried out forcibly and against their consent.
With an assembly election approaching, both parties have moved quickly to frame the episode, turning a family's grief into the latest flashpoint in the state's political contest.