Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann sparked off an outrage on Tuesday after he made a controversial remark on the BJP allegedly seeking votes in the name of 'sindoor' (vermillion) in the wake of Operation Sindoor.
Accusing the BJP of turning sindoor into a joke, Mann said: "If they come to your house (with sindoor), will you apply 'sindoor' in the name of Modi. Is it a 'one nation, one husband' scheme?"
.@BhagwantMann crosses all limits !
— Pritpal Singh Baliawal (@PritpalBaliawal) June 3, 2025
Mocking Operation Sindoor, he shamelessly asks:
“Will you wear sindoor in Modi's name? Is this One Nation, One Husband?”
Let’s set the record straight:
👉 There is NO BJP activity sending sindoor to every household. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/ULxrAtEONu
The chief mnister was talking to reporters after chairing a cabinet meeting when he was asked about the BJP allegedly using Operation Sindoor to seek votes in the Ludhiana West assembly bypolls scheduled for June 19.
The BJP hit back at the chief minister and said he had “crossed all the limits” and insulted the Indian Army and the women in the country.
"Let's set the record straight. There is no BJP activity sending sindoor to every household. The term Operation Sindoor was used because terrorists were killing Hindus after checking their religion. Sindoor was a marker they used to identify women," said BJP spokesperson Pritpal Singh Balliawal in a post on X.
"This operation was about terrorism, martyrdom, and the protection of Indian lives. But how would Bhagwant Mann, a man with zero sensitivity, understand that? A man who mocks the Indian Army, insults Veer Naris, turns every sacred symbol into a joke, such a person will never understand the value of sindoor, which carries sacrifice, love. This isn't humour," his post read.
Balliawal further demanded that Mann resign from his post and apologise to the entire nation.
.@BhagwantMann crosses all limits !
— Pritpal Singh Baliawal (@PritpalBaliawal) June 3, 2025
Mocking Operation Sindoor, he shamelessly asks:
“Will you wear sindoor in Modi's name? Is this One Nation, One Husband?”
Let’s set the record straight:
👉 There is NO BJP activity sending sindoor to every household. 1/4 pic.twitter.com/ULxrAtEONu
BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari, too, came down heavily on the chief minister, accusing him of ridiculing Operation Sindoor.
"Shameful! Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann ridicules Operation Sindoor. Once again, the opposition shows its true face -- Disrespecting our armed forces and belittling a successful military operation. If this isn't anti-India in spirit, then what is?,” he said.
Under Operation Sindoor, India launched airstrikes at nine terrorist targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including the Jaish-e-Mohammad stronghold of Bahawalpur and Lashkar-e-Taiba's base in Muridke, on May 7 in response to the Pahalgam attack.
