 "Bhagwant Mann")
The BJP on Saturday hit out at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and said it is "very sad" that he is here to protest the arrest of his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal at a time when the death toll in a hooch tragedy in his state has climbed to 20.
The party also targeted AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha over his London visit and asked why he had a meeting with British Labour Party MP Preet K Gill, "who openly advocates 'K' separatism".
The death toll due to the suspected consumption of spurious liquor in Punjab's Sangrur district has climbed to 20, with six more people succumbing during treatment, officials said on Saturday.
Police have made eight arrests so far in connection with the case, they said.
Reacting to the climb in the death toll, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said, "It is very sad. The BJP is very sensitive towards the plight of the family members of those who died in the incident."
"It is also very sad that at a time when Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann should have been in his state to handle this issue, he has come to Delhi to protest the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal," Patra told reporters at the BJP headquarters here.
Also Read
"We only want to say that it is not appropriate for the chief minister to leave his state to do drama in another state (Delhi) and make efforts to protect a corrupt person at a time when people are dying in his state," the BJP leader said.
The BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya targeted AAP leader Chadha, raising questions on his meeting with British Labour MP Gill in London.
Sharing on 'X' a purported photograph of Chadha and Gill, Malviya wrote, "Elections have been announced in India. But Raghav Chadha, Arvind Kejriwal's blue eyed boy, is in London! Why? Why is Chadha in touch with Preet Gill?
"Sunita Kejriwal, wife of jailed Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal says, 'There are several forces within and outside India that are weakening the country. We have to be alert, identify these forces and defeat them'," the BJP leader said.
"Agree with her completely," he added.
"She may want to explain what is AAP MP Raghav Chadha doing with British Labour MP Preet K Gill, who openly advocates K separatism, mobilises funds for Ks in UK, funds violent protests outside India House in London, constantly posts anti-India, anti-Modi, anti-Hindu stuff on her social media accounts," Malviya charged.
"We learn through media plants that he is in UK for an 'eye surgery'. If so, what happened to the 'transformation' in Delhi's health services? Is the advertised 'Delhi Model' a sham? Why he is getting the eye surgery done abroad and not in a Delhi Govt hospital," he asked.
"Too many questions for (the) AAP leaders, but no answers," the BJP leader added.
Union minister Anurag Thakur also hit out at the Punjab chief minister over the Sangrur hooch tragedy and targeted Chadha over his London visit, without naming the AAP leader.
"What kind of government is it (in Punjab)? An MP from the state stands with those forces who speak against India and support terrorism. He poses for a picture with them wearing a smile on his face," Thakur told reporters at the BJP headquarters.
"What kind of compulsion is it that makes it necessary for you to join hands with anti-national forces," the BJP leader asked, alleging, "You (AAP) were with such forces during Punjab (assembly) elections also.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
