‘Shameful Scenes’: BJP Attacks AAP Over Police Lathi-Charge on Women Sanitation Workers Protesting in Barnala | VIDEO

Barnala: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched a sharp political attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government, sharing footage of police action against protesting sanitation workers (safai karamcharis) in Barnala and accusing Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s administration of using force to suppress civic employees demanding their rights.

The controversy erupted after the official X handle of BJP India posted a video showcasing chaotic scenes from Barnala, where police personnel were seen moving in to disperse demonstrators by lathi-charge.

The protest was organised by local municipal sanitation staff who have been demanding job regularisation, timely disbursement of pending wages, and improved service conditions.

The BJP accused the ruling party of dual standards, highlighting the contrast between the welfare guarantees pledged to women before the elections and the treatment meted out to female workers on the streets.

"Shameful scenes from Punjab," the BJP stated in its post accompanying the video clip. "The AAP government promised ₹1,000 a month to women. Today, those same women are being lathi-charged on Punjab’s streets. In Barnala, Safai Karamcharis demanding their rights were met with police action as the Mann government tried to crush their protest."

Sanitation workers across several districts in Punjab have been on strike, demanding that contract workers be inducted into regular government employment.

The demonstrations have led to civic disruptions in multiple urban centres, with union representatives alleging that state authorities have repeatedly ignored their representations and have relied on law enforcement to break up peaceful assemblies.

Opposition leaders in Punjab joined the BJP in questioning the state government's administrative handling of labour grievances, asserting that civil dialogue rather than police deterrence should be employed to resolve civic strikes.

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