'Love to Mann': Bittu posts tomato, egg videos after protesting outside Punjab CM cavalcade - watch

NEW DELHI: BJP leader and former Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu shared videos on X showing his detention by police after he protested with eggs and tomatoes as Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's cavalcade passed through Ludhiana.In the footage, Bittu could be heard saying, "throw, throw!" as police detained him. The video was posted with the caption, "Love to Bhagwant Mann from Punjabis."Bittu was detained by Ludhiana Police and taken to an undisclosed location.He stepped up his criticism of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing the state government of failing to act against those allegedly involved in the attack on his convoy and the BJP's 'Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra'.Bittu alleged that the attack was linked to the drug trade in the state and claimed that no action had been taken against those responsible. He also challenged Mann to confront him directly, saying, "If Bhagwant Mann had the guts, he would have faced me. Today, the Chief Minister is making a narrow escape.""You have addicted all of Punjab to drugs. You are getting people attacked because you are colluding with drug traffickers. That is why you orchestrated an attack on me and the BJP yatra yesterday. I would not have had to come here today if action had been taken against those goons. However, no action was taken against them because they are the biggest drug lords," he added.He also urged the Sikh community's leadership to lodge a formal complaint over the alleged disruption of devotees travelling during the Viah Purab celebrations of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Referring to the throwing of eggs on the road, he said, "Today, I want to appeal to Jathedar Sahib that a formal complaint be lodged.""The Viah Purab of Guru Nanak Dev Ji is being celebrated. People were laying down mats on the road; they were sweeping it clean so that no one would step on anything unclean or get a speck of dirt on them. The entire Sangat was proceeding to pay obeisance, but it was disrupted. Just imagine, eggs were thrown at the very spot on the road where the Sangat was traveling. I urge Jathedar Sahib to ensure a formal complaint is lodged," he said.He further appealed for those responsible to be removed from the Sikh community, saying, "Those responsible for this should be expelled from the Panth (Sikh community).""If the Chief Minister has the guts, let him come himself and face me. If we were to start doing the same thing, you would not be able to set foot in any state. The windows of all my vehicles were smashed yesterday; I only survived because I was in a bulletproof car," Bittu said.The development came a day after Bittu alleged that his cavalcade was attacked while he was travelling to Pathankot to attend a BJP yatra.He accused the AAP government of turning into a “gangster party” and alleged that police failed to take action during the incident."There was an attack on me. AAP has become a gangster party. If someone who has security protection is attacked by 200 people, Shery Kalsi and Joban were heading this," Bittu had said."DSP, SP, were present there. Just before this happened, the police got our convoy to slow down and then helped the perpetrators run away. The police were present there at the time. Those people again came to attack a second time. One, Anmol Randhawa was caught by us. Their thought was to scare a top leader so that it would result in spreading fear in the other BJP leaders. The DGP and the CM should be ashamed," he added.Bittu alleged that protesters surrounded his convoy, threatened to attack those inside and damaged the windows of the vehicles. He also claimed that some of the protesters were carrying weapons.The BJP's 'Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra' was launched across the state on Friday as part of the party's campaign to raise awareness about the drug menace. Bittu was travelling to Pathankot to participate in the campaign when he alleged that his convoy was attacked by around 500 people.BJP MP Raghav Chadha alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party was "scared" and attempting to target Bittu following the alleged attack on his cavalcade.Get the latest India News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.