FIR against Bajwa sparks political firestorm in Punjab

Even though the Assembly elections are still two years away, Punjab's political landscape is already ablaze.

- NEERAJ MOHAN

The FIR against Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa has reignited concerns of vendetta politics in the border state.

However, Bajwa received relief from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which issued directions that "no coercive action" be taken against him until the next date of hearing in a criminal case registered over his controversial remarks about untraced grenades allegedly smuggled into Punjab.

Bajwa was booked under sections 197(1)(d) (false and misleading information that endangers the country's sovereignty and unity) and 353(2) (false statements intended to create enmity and hatred or ill will), a non-bailable offence, of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the cybercrime police station in Phase-7, Mohali, posing an arrest threat under Section 353(2) of the BNS, which deals with false statements intended to create enmity or hatred.

The FIR followed Bajwa's interview on a news channel in which he cited confidential sources claiming that "50 bombs from Pakistan had entered Punjab, with 18 already detonated and 32 still unaccounted for."

Bajwa's case fits a long-standing trend in Punjab, where political rivalries often spill into legal battlegrounds. The state has seen a series of high-profile cases targeting opposition figures, including senior leader and former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son Sukhbir Badal, former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Sukhpal Khaira, and Bikram Singh Majithia, among others.