The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday slammed BJP leader Parvesh Verma for his “insulting” remark that “thousands of Punjab registration vehicles are roaming around" in the national capital” and called the latter's statement an attack on the legacy and patriotism. Verma’s statement drew sharp criticism from AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal who took to social media platform X and demanded an apology from the BJP leader. "There are lakhs of Punjabis living in Delhi whose families and ancestors have made countless sacrifices for the country of Punjabi refugees also live in Delhi who left everything behind during the difficult times of partition and settled in Delhi.
Their families have also suffered numerous hardships," Kejriwal wrote in his post. He added that by calling Punjabis a threat to the country, BJP has insulted their sacrifices. "Delhi is ruled by Punjabis.
By calling Punjabis a threat to the country, the BJP has insulted lakhs of Punjabis living in Delhi. BJP should apologise to the Punjabis." The controversy arose from Verma’s remarks on Tuesday, where he raised security concerns ahead of Republic Day, alleging that Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP leaders brought thousands of vehicles with Punjab registration numbers into Delhi.
Reacting to his remarks, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann also expressed disapproval, saying, every Punjabi is feeling “extremely pained” and questioning the patriotism of Punjabis in this manner is unacceptable. Man.