“Who will protect the common man?”: Ravneet Bittu raises security concerns after alleged attack on cavalcade

Pathankot (Punjab) [India], September 18 (ANI): BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu on Friday alleged that his cavalcade was attacked by around 500 people while he was on his way to participate in the party’s anti-drug yatra, claiming that vehicles were attacked and some of the people were carrying weapons.
He alleged that protesters surrounded his convoy, threatened to attack them, and damaged vehicle windows.
Speaking to reporters, Bittu said, “Today, we were supposed to take out a yatra against drugs because this Aam Aadmi Party government and drug addicts are all colluding, and this is what they have been doing for the last four and a half years... There were around 500 people there. I passed through them in my vehicle. I have Z-plus security, with around 100 security personnel accompanying me.”
“The local DSP and an SP were also there with the police for their protection. I do not know who these people are, but their phones are active at the moment... They are continuously saying, ‘Surround them, beat them, kill them.’ They attacked the vehicles, and the windows of the vehicles were broken. Eggs and tomatoes are a small thing. Some of them had weapons,” he further said.
Bittu said he was seeking the registration of an FIR and had been waiting for the SSP since around 9 am.
“...I am asking them to register an FIR and call the SSP, but we have been sitting here since around 9 a.m... No action has been taken so far. Bhagwant Mann, you may save your wife from five-crore deals wherever you want, but who will save these people when I get an FIR registered against them? This is how the beginning has been made today. It has become clear that they are indeed drug dealers,” he further said.
Bittu raised concerns over his security as a Z-plus protectee, saying that if his life cannot be protected, then it raises questions about who will protect the common man from the drug menace.
“A convoy of vehicles is passing... The government will put pressure, but you tell me, what is my fault? Tell me what my fault is, and I will leave. I will even apologise to them and leave, saying, ‘It was my mistake, I made this mistake,’ and I will leave. Until the SSP comes here, I am a Z-plus protectee. Leave everything else aside, but if his life cannot be protected, then what is left? Who will protect the common man? This is exactly what we have to protect people from — the drug menace," Bittu said.
"If we lose today itself, then how are we going to fight the battle against drugs and for the people? This is the fight. This is why we have undertaken this yatra. The Prime Minister has said it; Amit Shah has said that drugs will be eliminated within two years, no matter how much effort the Aam Aadmi Party puts in,” he said.
BJP National President Nitin Nabin is scheduled to flag off the party’s ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’ from Pathankot today.
The yatra will cover 4,000 kilometres across all 117 Assembly constituencies before concluding in Jalandhar on September 30, where Union Home Minister Amit Shah is scheduled to address a rally. (ANI)