NEW DELHI: Calling Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal a ‘dictator’, the BJP leaders along with the president of Sikh Gurudwara Prabhandak Committee not only condemned Tejinder Bagga’s arrest on Friday but also sought apologies from the CM for not allowing Bagga to wear his ‘dastar’ – a headwear associated with Sikhism. A large number of BJP and BJYM workers along with supporters from the Sikh community on Saturday held a protest outside the CM’s residence.
Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta who was present in the protest alleged that with BJP spokesman Bagga’s arrest, it was clear that the AAP’s national convener had misused the Punjab police for personal benefit. “Kejriwal is a dictator. What was Bagga’s crime? He just asked for Kejriwal’s clarification on his remarks on the movie The Kashmir Files. He was not allowed to wear the turban during the arrest. BJP will not tolerate the insult to the turban,” said Gupta.
Meanwhile, BJP national spokesperson RP Singh said, “Bhagwant Mann and Kejriwal should both apologise for insulting the constitutional freedom given to the Sikhs. Under Section 25 (B), we are free to wear the dastar but the Punjab police did not allow him to wear it despite his father Pritpal Singh who kept requesting the police for it. Instead, Bagga’s father was mishandled by the police, which is a shame.” Echoing the same opinion, BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa slammed AAP led-Punjab government for choosing Mohali DSP Kuljinder Singh Sandhu to take action against Bagga.
“The government chose notorious cop Kuljinder Singh Sandhu who was posted as DSP Mohali on the instructions of Bhola drug case main accused Sarabjit Singh, to pick up Bagga from his home. On Friday the Punjab police had arrested Bagga from his residence in Janakpuri but the city police brought him back to the capital from Haryana saying its Punjab counterpart did not inform it about the arrest.