Ludhiana, Jun 7 (PTI) BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh on Saturday said the Election Commission (ECI) should immediately ban AAP leaders facing criminal charges from campaigning for the upcoming bypoll to the Ludhiana West Assembly seat.

Taking strong exception to AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia – both accused in the Delhi excise policy case – campaigning for the by-election, Chugh demanded that they be prohibited from entering the constituency.

The bypoll to the Ludhiana West Assembly seat will take place on June 19 and the results will be out on June 23. The seat fell vacant following the death of AAP MLA Gurpreet Bassi Gogi in January.

In a statement, Chugh claimed that AAP supremo Kejriwal has been “plotting” a backdoor entry into the Rajya Sabha from Punjab, and his “dubious political games are a grave insult to the people of the state”.

The AAP has fielded its Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora as the candidate for the Ludhiana West bypoll. Demanding ECI’s immediate intervention in the matter, Chugh said in the statement that AAP leaders facing serious criminal charges should be barred from campaigning in the constituency.

Chugh has been campaigning for BJP nominee Jiwan Gupta across the constituency, appealing to the voters to strengthen Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for Punjab, particularly for the welfare of the farmers. Meanwhile, BJP leader and Delhi minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa too lashed out at the AAP, accusing Kejriwal and other leaders of “exploiting” Punjab’s resources and replicating the “controversial policies that led to corruption in Delhi”.

Sirsa, who also campaigned for Gupta in Ludhiana, alleged that “fugitives from Delhi” have now turned to Punjab to “loot” the state, just as they “looted” the national capital.

“The same excise policy that led to the liquor scam in Delhi has been implemented in Punjab under pressure from Kejriwal and Sisodia,” Sirsa alleged.

He pointed out that Kejriwal and Sisodia themselves scrapped the policy in Delhi when investigations began, but insisted on enforcing it in Punjab through Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

Kejriwal left Delhi to “enjoy power in Punjab, openly using the state’s vehicles and helicopters”, Sirsa alleged. “Ever since AAP’s defeat in Delhi, they have shifted base to Punjab and are nowhere to be seen in the capital. Not just Kejriwal, even his secretary, peon and driver are enjoying benefits out of Punjab’s exchequer,” he claimed.

Accusing the AAP leadership of “misusing” Punjab’s resources, Sirsa claimed a team of “fugitives” from Delhi is “ruthlessly exploiting” the state.

“In 2022, Punjab’s debt stood at Rs 2.83 lakh crore. It took 50 years to reach this figure. But ever since the AAP leaders from Delhi came here, they have added Rs 1 lakh crore to Punjab’s debt. Today, Punjab is reeling under a debt of Rs 3.83 lakh crore, making it the second-most indebted state in India,” Sirsa claimed.

Raising the issue of Punjab’s land pooling policy, Sirsa said, “This is being done to benefit Delhi-based builders, whose plots will be sold for a profit. The land belongs to Punjab’s farmers who value it more than their lives.” The BJP leader also claimed that Kejriwal’s government in Delhi spent crores on publicity while doing little on the ground.

“They (AAP) spent Rs 32 crore promoting a chemical costing Rs 22 lakh to end stubble burning in Delhi, which does not even have stubble. Similarly, in the Scheduled Caste scholarship scheme, only Rs 83 lakh was disbursed to students while Rs 50 crore was spent on advertisements,” Sirsa alleged.

“Rs 55 crore was spent to promote the odd-even traffic rule in Delhi,” he claimed, accusing the AAP of “wasting public funds to glorify its leaders”. PTI COR CHS ARI