bagga: Political parties at loggerheads over Tajinder Bagga arrest: Who said what | India News

NEW DELHI: The Punjab Police action against BJP leader Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga triggered a political storm with parties trading barbs and charges. Bagga was arrested by a Punjab Police team for an allegedly objectionable tweet against Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
However, Haryana Police detained the Punjab Police team and a Delhi cops were on their way to bring the BJP leader back to the national capital. There were allegations and counter-allegations by BJP and AAP over the actions of police forces under their rule.
Here is a look at who said what:

Arrest part of vendetta: BJP

The BJP accused Punjab Police of “abducting” Bagga, and alleged that Kejriwal was pursuing vendetta through the state police. BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa said a Sikh, a reference to Bagga, had been “insulted” despite Punjab having a Sikh chief minister in Bhagwant Mann.
Bagga had been “unmasking” Kejriwal’s lies, and that is why he was targeted, Sirsa said at a press conference.
Another Delhi BJP leader, Nupur Sharma, cited a court ruling to say that police from another state must inform local police before making any arrest. Punjab Police’s action, she said, was illegal as it did not inform its Delhi counterparts.

BJP shielding goons: AAP
AAP leader Atishi Marlena said the BJP tried its best to stop action against a “goon and rioter”. “The developments have shown that the BJP can go to any extent to shield a goon,” she added.
She claimed that Punjab Police followed the due process to carry out Bagga’s arrest. “Delhi Police was informed. An arrest warrant was issued after five summons were sent. However, it is the Delhi and Haryana police forces under BJP regimes that have acted against the law,” she said.
The matter has reached the high court and the facts will come to light, the AAP legislator said.

Don’t carry wrong orders: Congress’s Sukhpal Singh Khaira
Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira said the situation arose because Punjab Police was following erroneous orders. He urged chief minister Bhagwant Mann to ensure that this did not happen.

Political vendatta a cardinal sin: Navjot Singh Sidhu
The maverick Punjab leader said while there could be ideological differences, political vendetta to settle personal scores was wrong.
Sidhu also spoke against what he claimed was the politicisation of Punjab Police.

Don’t use police to target opponents: Sukhbir Badal

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal said it was important that police is not used to target opponents. Badal also said that people of Punjab had elected AAP to bring meaningful change and not settling of scores.