Nov 1 debate at PAU : Mann invitation to public sparks security fear, Opp slams govt for turning city into fortress

After daring the opposition leaders – state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar, Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal — Mann invited the public to witness the debate. Internally, a senior official said, the government is now fearing that if a huge number of people descend on Ludhiana, it would be difficult for the police to manage the crowds.

“The CM has invited the Punjabis to witness the debate. Now, there are 3 crore Punjabis. If 1 crore descend on the scene, then what would happen? It has to be a tight bandobast now to ensure that there are only as many people as the police can manage. Now, there will be barricades everywhere. People will be stopped. The government doesn’t want police to use any force. Any such measure will turn the debate into a catastrophe,” the official said.

CM Mann, it is learnt, was to hold a meeting with Chief Secretary Anurag Verma and DGP Gaurav Yadav to review the security arrangements. However, following the death of one of his security personnel in the morning, Mann cancelled all the meetings for the day.

However, as Special DGP Shukla reviewed the arrangements in Ludhiana, the city saw a huge deployment of police force even as Majithia and Jakhar, slammed the AAP government for trying to “impose a clampdown on Ludhiana to suppress people’s voices” who, they said, “might have reached the debate venue to raise their demands”.

Jakhar said in a post on X that Ludhiana Police Commissioner Mandeep Singh Sidhu was “relieved” from debate day duty “as government is preparing to put a clampdown on the city before the ‘sham’ debate”. “What are you scared of Chief Minister sahib,” Jakhar asked.

However, CP Sidhu said: “I had applied for leave well in advance for two days (October 31 and November 1) due to a family commitment, hence IG Ropar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar will head security arrangements for the programme in my absence. I have no idea why an issue is being made out of it. I was there throughout the DGP’s meeting today”.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Ludhiana police said: “In preparation for the forthcoming VVIP programmes, a special meeting was convened, presided over by the special DGP law & order along with the ADGP traffic and ADGP intelligence. The meeting was also attended by IG Rupnagar (Ropar) range, CP Ludhiana, DIG Ludhiana range, DIG PAP and other senior officers. DGP law and order imparted crucial instructions to all officers, underscoring the importance of executing their duties with utmost effectiveness and vigilance”.

In a post on X, Majithia said that a huge army of officers was being put on duty in Ludhiana in order to impose a “curfew” on people and Opposition leaders. “Punjabiyan layi curfew, virodhi dhiraan layi curfew, debate kis naal? Punjab police naal jihna ne tuhade kehan tey ajj hi Ludhiana chauwni bana ditta? Mann saab tuhanu ohna Punjabiyan ton khatra jihna tuhanu satta ditta? Aao khule aasman ch debate kariye. (Curfew for Punjabis, curfew for Opposition parties, debate with whom? With Punjab Police who on your asking have turned Ludhiana into a cantonment today itself. Bhagwant Mann saab, are you having security threat from Punjabis who gave you the power. Let’s debate under the open skies),” he said.

In another post, Majithia tagged Jakhar and wrote that “they have not just deputed IG Bhullar; CP Sidhu is already there but along with him SSPs of four districts along with their forces, nearly a dozen SPs and at least 1000+ personnel have been deputed because Maharaja of Satauj is arriving in Ludhiana”.

Majithia also shared a copy of the order, purportedly issued from the DGP office, stating that IG Bhullar was being given the additional charge of Ludhiana police commissioner during Mandeep Sidhu’s leave period from October 31 to November 1.

Multiple sources in the government said that the PAU auditorium has an effective capacity of 1,000 and it is possible to make arrangements for 800 people on its ground floor. “The situation may turn out of control if supporters of all political parties land outside the auditorium,” an official said.

The government will have arrangement to seat the CM, Bajwa, Warring, Badal, and Jakhar.

As of now, only Jakhar and Bajwa have made it known publicly that they would be participating in the debate. Badal had already called Mann for a debate outside the CM’s residence few days ago when he had gone to stage a dharna there.