Following an explosion near the BJP office in Chandigarh, the Punjab BJP is accusing the AAP government of failing to maintain law and order in the state, raising concerns about public safety.
A day after a blast outside the party's office here, on Thursday, Punjab BJP working president Ashwani Sharma slammed the AAP government over the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the border state, alleging its impact is now reaching the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
Sharma blamed forces inimical to peace and brotherhood for the blast outside the party's Punjab headquarters.
At least 10 teams of the Chandigarh Police were deployed at the party office.
A police officer said a hunt is on for two suspects allegedly involved in the hurling of the explosive device that went off.
"We are working on it, and we will soon be able to crack the case," said the officer.
An FIR under the Explosives Act and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act has been registered in connection with the explosion.
BJP workers led by the party's state vice-president and Mohali unit president Sanjiv Vashisht denounced the Bhagwant Mann government in a protest in Mohali.
On Wednesday, around 5 pm, an explosion occurred near the BJP's Chandigarh office, causing damage to several vehicles parked nearby. No casualties were reported.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) inspected the site to investigate the explosion.
Within hours of the blast, an unverified video surfaced on social media, showing a man pulling the pin from a blue-coloured grenade and throwing it, while another person recorded the act. Both start running as a blast rings out in the backdrop.
Their faces were not visible in the 10-second video, the veracity of which is yet to be ascertained. Footage from a CCTV camera also showed the suspects running across the road after the explosion.
In a separate unverified social media post, a person identified as Sukhjinder Singh Babbar claimed responsibility for the alleged grenade attack.
On Thursday, addressing the media, Sharma linked the blast incident to a series of grenade attacks at police stations in Punjab.
Referring to the video, viral on social media, he claimed that the attacker aimed to throw the grenade inside the building, as the other person cursed him for failing to miss the target.
Earlier in the day, Sharma visited the site of the blast outside the party's headquarters. He said he was relieved that no one was hurt.
"There are many workers in this office. Senior party leaders also stay here as there is a residential area here as well," he said.
Sharma, who is also the Pathankot MLA, said the motive behind the attack is yet to be ascertained.
He said the Punjab Police and the CRPF have been deployed at the office.
"I feel that the BJP's increasing strength and acceptability of the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi among every section of the society is not being digested by many people, especially the current government," he alleged, attacking the Mann dispensation.
Sharma also referred to Modi's visit to Dera Sachkhand Ballan in Jalandhar in February, Union Home Minister Amit Shah's rally in Moga in March, and senior advocate and former MLA H S Phoolka joining the party.
"I feel that such forces which want to break Punjab, these forces which are against brotherhood in the state, did the cowardly act outside the BJP office yesterday," he said.
The Punjab BJP leader listed several incidents, such as a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack on police intelligence headquarters in Mohali, many grenade blasts outside police stations in areas including Amritsar, Gurdaspur, a blast at the residence of BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia in Jalandhar, singer Sidhu Moosewala murder, statue of B R Ambedkar being vandalised and other incidents to emphasise the "deteriorating" law and order situation in the state.
The incidents show that the law and order situation in Punjab has "completely collapsed," and its impact is now reaching Chandigarh, he said.
Sharma also accused Mann of making "insensitive remarks" at the incident.