Bittu stages protest with liquor bottle, eggs and tomatoes near PAU; links action to alleged attack on his convoy a day earlier

Ludhiana, 19 September (H.S.): BJP leader and former Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu was detained by Punjab Police on Saturday after staging a protest near Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) as Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s convoy passed through the area. Bittu demonstrated with a liquor bottle, eggs and tomatoes and was later taken away by police.

During the protest near PAU’s Gate No. 8, Bittu held up a liquor bottle towards the Chief Minister’s convoy and said he was symbolically “returning” it to Mann. He also displayed eggs and tomatoes, saying these were in response to what he described as an attack on his own convoy a day earlier.

Bittu alleged that Aam Aadmi Party workers had targeted his convoy near Batala on Friday while he was travelling to Pathankot to participate in the BJP’s ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’. He claimed stones and eggs were thrown at his vehicles and accused AAP-linked protesters of being behind the incident. These allegations have been made by Bittu and have not been independently established.

The BJP leader said that if AAP workers continued protesting against BJP leaders and party programmes, BJP workers would also hold what he described as democratic protests against the state government. He accused the Punjab government of using police action to suppress political opposition.

Hindusthan Samachar / GURSHARAN SINGH