Overview

• On July 13, Ashwani Sharma formally took charge as Punjab BJP working president in a bid to strengthen the party’s state unit before national organisational polls
• In his first address, Sharma pledged to reply in kind to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s “street language” after Mann criticised Prime Minister Modi’s overseas visits
• Sharma branded the AAP government a “circus” and accused Mann of lacking control over his words and respect for constitutional institutions
• He criticised Mann’s failure to deliver on key promises, including fast-track courts for sacrilege cases and filling Punjab’s 2,550-seat quota on the Bhakra Beas Management Board
• The Ministry of External Affairs had earlier called Mann’s remarks on Modi’s foreign honors “irresponsible” and distanced the Union government from his comments