Punjab Newsline | Mohali
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday staged statewide protests across Punjab against a misleading video circulated on social media to defame Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann. The party alleged that the campaign was orchestrated by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), its president Sukhbir Singh Badal, the BJP, and the Congress as part of a political conspiracy.
Addressing the media during a protest in Mohali, senior AAP leader and Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said the demonstrations were symbolic protests against what he termed the anti-Punjab and anti-community activities of the Shiromani Akali Dal, accusing it of repeatedly attempting to disturb the state's peace and communal harmony.
“Today, AAP workers have taken to the streets not only in Mohali but across Punjab to register their protest against such forces. The people of Punjab are well aware of these conspiracies and will never allow those who repeatedly harm the interests of the state to succeed,” Cheema said.
Highlighting the achievements of the Bhagwant Mann-led government, Cheema claimed that nearly 44,000 government jobs had been provided to youth through a transparent recruitment process.
He also said that sports grounds were being developed in villages, around 45,000 kilometres of roads were under construction or repair, government schools were delivering world-class education, and households were benefiting from 300 units of free electricity every month.
Cheema alleged that these development initiatives had unsettled opposition parties, prompting them to resort to “cheap politics.” He claimed that a fabricated video had been circulated on social media in an attempt to damage the Chief Minister’s clean image, describing it as an act of desperation by political forces that had lost public support.
The Cabinet Minister said the statewide protests were intended to expose the alleged conspiracy before the people of Punjab and to send a strong message that politics based on falsehood and deception would not be tolerated. He added that AAP workers stood united against the campaign and would not allow any attempt to disturb Punjab’s peace, progress, or social harmony.
AAP leaders participating in the protests also reiterated that the Shiromani Akali Dal had adopted such tactics because it had lost political credibility among the people. They asserted that the people of Punjab could distinguish between truth and falsehood and would reject all attempts to mislead them through fabricated content and propaganda.
