NEW DELHI: A political row erupted over a viral video purportedly showing people in a drug-like state in Punjab after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal accused BJP leaders of spreading “lies”, following a Punjab Police fact-check that said the footage was actually from Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan.In a post on X on Tuesday, Kejriwal questioned whether the video was circulated by BJP leaders at the direction of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).“Many BJP people spread this lie together yesterday. Did the order come from the PMO? Does the PMO spread lies in the country?” Kejriwal said.The controversy began after BJP MP and former cricketer Harbhajan Singh shared the video on X, expressing concern over drug addiction among Punjab’s youth.“The evil eye has struck, my friend, on our Punjab… The governments have ruined Punjab and its Punjabi youth. It makes me want to cry seeing all this. Forgive my Punjab… Excuse Punjab. Where have they brought Punjab to? The Punjab that was once known for its rising fortunes, courage, and bravery–today, that same Punjab’s youth is besieged by addictions. There’s still time–save my Punjab. Save Punjab’s youth,” he wrote.Punjab Police subsequently fact-checked the post and said the video was not from Punjab but from Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan.“The video being circulated is from Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan–not Punjab–and has no connection with Punjab Police. A Punjabi audio track does not make an incident a Punjab incident. We urge users and social media accounts to verify the facts and location before posting misleading content or tagging Punjab Police,” the police said.The latest exchange comes amid Kejriwal’s ongoing campaign against E20 fuel.On Sunday, the former Delhi chief minister accused the Modi government of attempting to prevent people from voicing criticism of its ethanol-blending policy.In a video posted on X, Kejriwal alleged that social media content critical of the E20 policy was being removed.He said he wanted to raise questions about how E20 fuel was being implemented across the country.Kejriwal also narrated a joke involving the police forces of US President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, comparing their efforts to find a lion released in a jungle.He said while the “police of Trump brought the lion in 24 hours and that of Putin in an hour, the police force of Modiji took days and during the search it was found that they were holding onto a dog, beating it severely, and asking it to say, ‘I am a lion”.This is the situation of the country that Modi ji has done. 140 crore people are being battered and are being told to say that ‘E20 is right,” he said.Kejriwal further alleged that those opposing the E20 policy were facing action against their social media accounts.“Anyone who raises a voice against E20… their page (is) taken down, their video deleted… FIR filed against them… How will you suppress 1.40 crore people?” he asked.AAP has been seeking greater transparency over ethanol-blended fuel and has demanded that findings related to fuel quality and vehicle compatibility be made public.The party has also said consumers should have a choice at petrol pumps, including access to conventional petrol.(With ANI inputs)
