The Naked Dance of “Lathi-Raj” in Punjab — Mann Government’s oppressive action has killed democracy in Punjab : Chugh

Chandigarh, November 29, 2025: BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said here today that the Bhagwant Mann government has unleashed an oppressive raj in Punjab to stifle the democratic right of protest.

Strongly condemning the police lathi charge on roadways employees who were demonstrating in support of their demands, Chugh said instead of sympathetically considering their demands the AAP government resorted to brutality to kill the voice of dissent.

 Punjab today is no longer a democracy but has turned into an arena of unchecked coercion. “The Mann government has turned the police baton into its political weapon—anyone who raises their voice is greeted with lathis.”

Attacking Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Chugh said that the Roadways employees protesting against the kilometre scheme are not criminals, but hardworking workers fighting for their livelihoods. But the Mann government wants to send out a clear message that in Punjab, there is no dialogue—only the language of the baton prevails. This behaviour is of a dictator, not of an elected Chief Minister.

Chugh said that the Mann government is teaching the same lesson to every employee union—“Under AAP rule, if you demand your rights, you will be beaten with lathis.”

He said that whether it is contract teachers, outsourced workers, municipal employees, anganwadi workers, ASHA workers, farmer unions, government employee associations, Powercom/PSPCL contract workers, sanitation workers, unemployed teachers, TET-qualified candidates, linemen/electricity outsourced workers, health workers or contract nurses—whoever tried to speak for their rights was silenced through the lathi-raj.

By trying to crush the Roadways employees’ protest against the kilometre scheme, the government has made it clear that the AAP government has imposed a policy of coercion across the state. He said that a government that considers its own employees as enemies and beats them—how can it protect the common people? This government is determined to turn Punjab into a prison of fear and silence.

BJP leader Tarun Chugh firmly stated that Punjabis will never accept the “lathi-raj.” Every attempt to bury democracy under lathis will be defeated.