"Cheap politics": BJP's Tarun Chugh slams AAP for misusing police after raid at Ranjit Singh Gill's residence

Chandigarh [India], August 2 (ANI): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National General Secretary Tarun Chugh on Saturday condemned the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab for using Vigilance Police to settle political scores.
Taking strong exception to the Vigilance raids on Ranjit Singh Gill, a day after he joined the BJP, Chugh claimed that the Bhagwant Mann government has been in panic with the growing strength of the BJP in Punjab.
"The Mann government has turned the state into a personal playground where police agencies are misused like private militia," Chugh said.
Chugh warned that this approach will ultimately backfire, saying, "Punjab would not remain silent," slamming the Bhagwant Mann government in Punjab, accusing it of spreading terror among political opponents and misusing the police force to settle scores.
"I want to tell Bhagwant Mann and his Delhi masters--Punjab doesn't bow down to bullies. If you think you can silence voices by misusing raids and bureaucracy, you're gravely mistaken."
Stating that the party would take the issue to every public platform and legal forum, Chugh stated that the issue was not just about one leader but about the "erosion" of civil liberty in Punjab under the "draconian" rule of AAP.
"This isn't just about one leader--this is about the erosion of civil liberty in Punjab under AAP's draconian rule. We will not let Punjab be reduced to a dictatorship in disguise," Chugh stated.
Earlier, raids were conducted by the Punjab Vigilance Bureau at the residence of Ranjit Singh Gill, owner of Gilco Group in Chandigarh, hours after he joined BJP.
Speaking to ANI, legal advisor LK Verma said, "This is an unnecessary raid. AAP has behaved similarly with other leaders as well. You have seen that AAP had earlier also raided many people who were our senior leaders, Tajinder Bagga...and tried to pressurise them in the same way. This is the modus operandi of the AAP government, to pressurise senior leaders so that they continue to incline the AAP." (ANI)