Tension erupted in Bhatinda outside the Bharatiya Janata Party office near Mittal Mall on Sunday afternoon, 10th May, after BJP and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) workers gathered at the same spot and staged rival protests over the money laundering case involving Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora. Arora was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate from Chandigarh on Saturday, 9th May.
BJP workers were protesting against the Punjab government and demanded the resignation of Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora as well as Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on moral grounds. The protest was led by former MLA and BJP’s Bathinda Urban president Sarup Chand Singla.
Ruckus btw the AAP & Punjab BJP in Ludhiana & Bathinda. AAP protests against the ED action & BJP across the state amid arrest of Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora. https://t.co/ZPWDL5KENX pic.twitter.com/eRnj6riNG1
— Akashdeep Thind (@thind_akashdeep) May 10, 2026
At the same time, AAP supporters, along with party MLAs, also reached the area and started counter-protests, leading to a tense situation between the two groups. Both sides raised slogans against each other, and for some time, the atmosphere remained heated outside the BJP office.
Police officials quickly stepped in to stop the situation from escalating. Security personnel formed a human chain between the two groups to prevent any clash. SP City Narinder Singh, along with DSPs Amritpal Singh Bhaati and Arun Mundan, remained present at the spot to monitor the situation and maintain law and order.
While BJP workers raised slogans against the AAP government, Bhagwant Mann and Sanjeev Arora, AAP activists, targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and accused the BJP of being anti-Punjab. They also alleged that the ED was being misused for political purposes.
Several senior AAP leaders were present during the protest, including MLAs Jagroop Singh Gill, Balkar Sidhu, Jagsir Singh and Sukhveer Singh Maiserkhana, former Mayor Padamjeet Mehta, Bathinda Lok Sabha in-charge Navdeep Jeeda and district president Jatinder Bhalla.
