The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) took action on Tuesday by lodging a formal complaint with the Election Commission against Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal, citing alleged violations of political campaign directives.
Senior AAP leader and Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema submitted the complaint to the Election Commission of India and the Chief Electoral Officer of Punjab. The complaint highlighted Sukhbir Badal’s purported exploitation of a child for political purposes during his ‘Punjab Bachao Yatra’ on April 6.
According to the complaint, Sukhbir Badal reportedly coerced a child into chanting slogans supporting the Shiromani Akali Dal and soliciting votes for the party. The AAP has supplemented the complaint with video evidence of the incident, urging stringent action against the SAD chief.
Cheema condemned Sukhbir Badal’s actions, asserting that they not only contravened the Election Commission’s directives but also breached laws prohibiting the involvement of children in political activities.
In a scathing critique of SAD’s ‘Punjab Bachao Yatra,’ Cheema branded it as a ‘Pariwar Bachao Yatra,’ accusing the Badal family of plundering Punjab for a decade, fostering sand, transport, and drug mafias.
Cheema further alleged that Sukhbir Badal’s motives behind the yatra were to salvage his family’s political legacy, disregarding established guidelines and legal norms in the process.