In Punjab face-off, AAP-BJP fight has a Gujarat angle
2
Jalandhar: Punjab chief minister
Bhagwant Mann
's remarks ridiculing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign visits and then calling Union home minister
Amit Shah
"tadipaar" have intensified AAP's political fight with BJP.
Like Punjab, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party has been using such attacks to take on BJP in Gujarat, as AAP has been trying to increase its support base there aggressively and is seeking to position itself as the main opponent to BJP.
Like BJP, Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) have also been attacking AAP govt on law and order in Punjab, especially after the murder of Abohar-based businessman Sanjay Verma. However, AAP has hit back at the BJP the strongest, accusing it of patronising and using gangsters, specifically Lawrence Bishnoi.
It was after these attacks that the CM targeted the PM and HM, turning it into an AAP-vs-BJP narrative. This was visible on Saturday, when AAP and BJP protested against each other at different places in Punjab. BJP protested the CM's remarks, while AAP protested by accusing BJP of shielding gangsters.
B
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oth parties, working as cohesive units with strong and sharp social media networks, further pushed this equation.
This AAP-versus-BJP clash is not confined to Punjab. AAP's social media accounts are taking it outside Punjab while targeting BJP. AAP supremo
Arvind Kejriwal
appears to be aggressively expanding the party's base in other states and projecting himself as an alternative on the opposition.
He has been specifically focusing on Gujarat, where around a fortnight ago, he alleged a 'hidden romance' between Congress and BJP, and announced that his party had no alliance with Congress and that the INDIA bloc was for Lok Sabha polls only.
AAP has also announced plans to contest alone in Bihar, and it appears to be getting aggressive in Uttar Pradesh too. On Sunday, AAP Punjab's X handle shared a poster titled 'BJP's G – connection'. It further mentioned: 'G-Gujarat, G-Gangster'. The poster had PM Narendra Modi's picture on it.
AAP's national X handle reposted this acerbic poster, specifically targeting the PM and BJP in Gujarat.
AAP had launched a no-holds-barred attack on BJP earlier last week, alleging that the Abohar-based businessman was killed on the orders of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, who was being kept in a Gujarat jail.
AAP Punjab president Aman Arora and finance minister Harpal Cheem have been taking on the BJP the most.
BJP also pushed the 'fake encounter' line
In the sequence of events, Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa attacked AAP for a "staged encounter" after two suspects arrested in connection with Verma's murder were killed in "cross firing" while in police custody. He said gangsters flourished under AAP rule and now Punjab had been turned into a police state with fake encounters. Sirsa, who earlier warned police officials that he would follow the issue of the "fake encounter", told TOI on Sunday that he was exploring the option of moving the court to get a CBI enquiry ordered in the 'fake encounter' case.
"Their story is childish and full of holes," he said. MSID:: 122420452 413 |
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