New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab accused BJP of being responsible for the clashes that took place in Punjab’s Patiala district, claiming that the special investigation team (SIT) set up by CM Bhagwant Mann will come up with a "big revelation” in the case soon. While speaking at a press conference, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj said on Thursday that evidence is coming out regarding BJP’s involvement in the clash and the SIT is looking into "all those things".
"Sometime back, we said how the BJP was trying to disturb the country's atmosphere by playing an active role in the riots that took place in various states from Ram Navami to Hanuman Jayanti," Bharadwaj said.
He further added, “And now the proof of the role played by the BJP and its leaders in the clash that took place between two different religious communities in Patiala has started coming out...We have come to know many things about it.”
He also said, “The SIT, set up by the Bhagwant Mann government, is probing into all those things and it will come up with a big revelation in this connection very soon.”
On April 29, a clash broke out between two groups in Patiala district when an outfit called Shiv Sena (Bal Thackeray) took out an “anti-Khalistan” march without permission. The group came across a Sikh activist group outside the Kali Mata temple which ended with one group hurling stones and the other brandishing swords at each other.
AAP spokesperson Bhardwaj said at the press conference that there is evidence available on "cyberspace internet and elsewhere" that those who instigated violence within both the groups have direct links to BJP.
He also claimed that the “mastermind” of the whole incident Barjinder Singh Parwana from the Sikh side who made provocative speeches before the clash was "directly linked" to the BJP and its leaders, Varun Jindal, who participated in the violence from the side of the Hindus' group, was the vice president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the BJP's youth wing.
“His (Parwana's) speeches in support of the violence are available on the internet and elsewhere. He is an extremist leader. And BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa openly advocated for Parwana. His video and his statements are also available on the internet for anybody to see. Hence, BJP was behind the violence,” Bhardwaj said.