Chandigarh-Aam Aadmi PartyPunjab President and Cabinet Minister Aman Arora strongly refuted all allegations levelled by Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu and hit back sharply at him. Arora stated that while the AAP and the Punjab Government were committed to ensuring peaceful and fair municipal elections across the state, the kind of hooliganism and unruly conduct displayed by Ravneet Singh Bittu in Dhuri and Sangrur was completely unacceptable and unbecoming of a person holding a constitutional position.
He said that when our party and I raised ideological questions against this hooliganism, instead of answering those questions, Bittu crossed all limits of decency. He stooped to completely below-the-belt politics and started cheap mudslinging at me and my late father.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Aman Arora said that our ideological question was straightforward, on one hand, you grab Punjab Police personnel and officers by their collars and call them “dalal” and “gunda.” If you think Punjab Police is so bad, then why did you, during the Congress government in 2017, bypass all rules and laws to get your brother Gur Iqbal Singh Honey directly appointed as DSP?
Even today, your brother is drawing salary from the Punjab treasury and from the taxes paid by the people of Punjab. Cornering Bittu further, he said that I have immense respect for your grandfather Sardar Beant Singh Ji, during whose tenure as Chief Minister my father was an MLA. But the question is, if you could change laws only for your brother, then why did you not get DSP jobs for the rest of 17 police personnel and common citizens martyred in that bomb blast? Did their families not sacrifice too? You ignored the law only for the selfish interests of your own family while the other victim families are still struggling.
Launching a sharp attack over Bittu calling him a “party-hopper, ” the Cabinet Minister said, “Bittu Ji, before joining the Aam Aadmi Party, I was in the same Congress party where you were. I left Congress in 2016 for principles, but you abandoned Congress in 2024 after seeing your defeat in the Lok Sabha elections and ran to the BJP purely out of greed for power. The only difference is that the people rejected you even after that.”
He said that despite losing, you still became a minister at the Centre, but your language has now become so cheap that the whole of Punjab is condemning it.
Responding to Bittu calling him a “kaput” (unworthy son), Arora said that whether a son is worthy or unworthy, you will have to go up and ask my late father, or else come to Sunam tomorrow and ask my mother, who has been bedridden at Fortis Hospital after surgery for the past one-and-a-half months.
Becoming highly emotional and aggressive over Bittu’s remarks regarding the death of his late father Shri Bhagwan Dass Arora Ji, Aman Arora revealed that my father committed suicide due to depression, there is no doubt about that. But why was he in depression? He left this world deeply hurt because of the same person whose written papers you were parroting and reading out in your press conference yesterday.
He said that our respected brother-in-law Rajinder Deepa left no stone unturned in destroying our entire family. In 2002, he disturbed the atmosphere of our home. In the 2007 and 2012 elections, he himself contested against me so that I would not become an MLA, and even today he continues to harass the entire family while living in his in-laws’ home. Arora said that Bittu Ji, leaders who appear sensible like you have become pawns of a person who, instead of becoming something in life himself, only worked towards destroying other people’s homes.
Responding to Bittu’s other allegations, Aman Arora said that at Rajinder Deepa’s instigation, you are accusing me of forging signatures in transport matters and quoting dates. I want to ask, 15-20 years ago, when our transport business was running, was Bittu Ji the manager there, the driver, or the conductor that he has such detailed knowledge?
Clarifying the matter related to the court case and punishment, he said that when Rajinder Deepa and his associates attacked my mother, I defended her, and the stitch marks are still visible on my head today. If I have to face punishment for protecting my mother, I have no regret. But your mentor Deepa Ji did not tell you that he and my sister Sonia together got not only me sentenced, but also our 85-year-old elderly mother was sentenced. Punjab’s people know very well who is "worthy son" and who is "worthy son-in-law".
Countering allegations about living in a rented house in Chandigarh, Aman Arora said, “Bittu Ji, whether I lived on rent in Chandigarh, in my own house, or even on the road after leaving Sunam, I never illegally occupied a government bungalow for years without paying rent like you did. When you needed an NOC from the Punjab Government to contest elections and had to clear Rs 2 crore of pending government bungalow rent, everyone saw how loudly you cried then. Wherever I have lived, I have lived with self-respect and dignity.”
Responding to questions raised on his character, he said that if anyone wants to see my character, they should ask the people of Sunam, who gave me a historic victory margin of 75, 277 votes in 2022, one of the biggest in Punjab’s electoral history. That is the stamp of the people. I do not need a character certificate from Bittu or Deepa.
Rejecting allegations of grabbing land in collusion with builders in Ludhiana during his tenure in the Housing Department, Aman Arora threw an open challenge to the Union Minister. He said, “Bittu Ji, your time, your day, and your place. Forget just Ludhiana, anywhere in Punjab, if during my tenure as minister even one inch of land was grabbed, or even purchased improperly, come and point it out, and I will transfer that land in your name today itself. Stop indulging in such nonsense and cheap politics.”
Aman Arora said that today his entire family, his mother, his other sister, and his brother’s family, all stand united with him. He added that Bittu Ji is fortunate to have got a good brother-in-law and family like Vikram Mofar who stood by him, but we were unfortunate to get a person like Deepa who always worked to break the family apart.
After my father’s death, I had to fight family, social, and political battles for 17 years before I could finally put the three letters “MLA” before my name. I pray to God that neither Bittu Ji’s family nor even the family of an enemy should ever face a time where someone is driven to suicide. If Bittu Ji still has doubts, he should come to Sunam tomorrow itself and meet my ailing mother, or come anywhere in Punjab and speak to me directly regarding the land allegations.