CHANDIGARH: Even though the Assembly elections are still two years away, Punjab’s political landscape is already ablaze. The FIR against Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa has reignited concerns of vendetta politics in the border state.
However, Bajwa received relief from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which issued directions that “no coercive action” be taken against him until the next date of hearing in a criminal case registered over his controversial remarks about untraced grenades allegedly smuggled into Punjab.
Bajwa was booked under Sections 197(1)(d) (false and misleading information that endangers the country’s sovereignty and unity) and 353(2) (false statements intended to create enmity and hatred or ill will), a non-bailable offence, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the cybercrime police station in Phase-7, Mohali, posing an arrest threat under Section 353(2) of the BNS, which deals with false statements intended to create enmity or hatred.
The FIR followed Bajwa’s interview on a news channel in which he cited confidential sources claiming that “50 bombs from Pakistan had entered Punjab, with 18 already detonated and 32 still unaccounted for.”
Bajwa’s case fits a long-standing trend in Punjab, where political rivalries often spill into legal battlegrounds. The state has seen a series of high-profile cases targeting opposition figures, including senior leader and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son Sukhbir Badal, former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Sukhpal Khaira, and Bikram Singh Majithia, among others.
Political observers believe that the Congress in Punjab is now tasting its own medicine. Back in 2003, the then-Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government’s Vigilance Bureau charged Akali Dal chief Parkash Singh Badal, his wife Surinder Kaur, and son Sukhbir Singh Badal with corruption.
Parkash and Sukhbir were remanded to judicial custody for 13 days, leading to political unrest in the state, with more than 1,500 Akali workers being arrested. However, after a seven-year-long case, all accused were acquitted by a local court in Mohali in 2010 due to a lack of incriminating evidence.
Similarly, Bikram Singh Majithia, Sukhbir’s brother-in-law, was arrested in 2021 on drug-related charges, which many viewed as an AAP-orchestrated move after their 2022 election victory. Though Majithia secured bail, the case lingers, fuelling narratives of vendetta.
However, political rivalry in Punjab isn’t limited to the SAD. As the AAP tightens its grip on power, key opposition parties like the SAD and Congress have cried foul, accusing the ruling party of weaponising state machinery to settle old scores.
Former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was questioned in 2022 over disproportionate assets, a case many Congress leaders dismissed as political harassment. Similarly, the arrest of another Congress leader, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, in 2023 on drug-related charges, which was later quashed by the courts, added fuel to claims that the AAP government was systematically weakening rivals.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), SAD’s former ally, hasn’t been spared either. After their 2022 split, BJP leaders in Punjab accused AAP of using administrative pressure to stifle their growth, though no major arrests have been reported recently. Opposition parties argue that the pattern is clear: consolidating power by neutralising threats under the guise of accountability.
Political history in the border state reveals the deep-rooted political rivalry among the political parties. During the 1980s and 1990s, violent clashes were witnessed between Akalis, Congress, and militant groups.
Defending Bajwa, senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha labelled the FIR a clear case of “political vendetta.” He emphasised that Bajwa’s concerns stemmed from legitimate national security anxieties and did not warrant criminal charges.
“The opposition has a duty to raise alarms when law and order is under threat. This FIR is an attempt to silence political critique,” Tankha added.
Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh slammed the Punjab Government, stating that governance in Punjab has completely collapsed. Instead of taking the warning seriously, the Chief Minister of Punjab accused Bajwa, who has lost family members to terrorism, of links with terrorist groups.
“This will not work,” Ramesh said.
“The Indian National Congress will not be silenced and will continue to raise the concerns of the people,” he added.
Even the action against Bajwa united Congress leaders, with former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring standing firmly behind him.
“Instead of fixing Punjab’s law and order situation, the AAP government is busy jailing those who point out its failures,” Warring said.
Meanwhile, Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar accused AAP and Congress of playing a “fixed match” and accused Mann and Bajwa of pushing the border state to the brink of chaos through “cheap politics” on a highly sensitive issue.
Reacting to the allegations of vendetta politics, Mann broke his silence and accused Bajwa of spreading fear and undermining the state’s law enforcement agencies.
“He (Bajwa) said this to spread fear. Where are the grenades and bombs? Tell me?” Mann told media persons in Sangrur, adding that the law will take its course.