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2d ago

Punjab Halts BJP’s Welfare Camps, Detains Leaders Over Alleged Data Misuse

State officials say private operators at the BJP-run drives harvested personal data in violation of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act.

BJP leaders staging a protest outside Dugri Police station in Ludhiana on Thursday. (Gurpreet Singh/HT)
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The row over Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) outreach programme in Punjab escalated on Thursday, with police detaining nearly 500 saffron party leaders and workers to thwart their plan to hold “awareness camps” at 39 places in the state.

Overview

  • Police shut camps at 39 sites across Punjab and detained roughly 125 BJP leaders and workers, with laptops and other material seized at several locations.
  • The government cited credible complaints of unauthorized data collection and warned residents to use official portals and Suvidha or CSC centres for scheme enrolments.
  • A BJP delegation led by working president Ashwani Sharma met Governor Gulab Chand Kataria seeking intervention, calling the clampdown harassment of party workers.
  • Party leaders announced plans to restart statewide camps on August 24 and staged protests after detentions reported in Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mansa, Muktsar, Mohali and Fazilka.
  • The outreach, active since May 20, is billed by the BJP as enrolling beneficiaries for Central schemes with a claimed 1.57 lakh sign-ups, while the state has ordered police inquiries into the camps.