With Bhupesh Baghel, the former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and Punjab Congress incharge and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring hammering home their claim that BJP and AAP are “just two sides of the same coin,” Congress has taken an unusual approach after Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora got arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case.
Instead of going after Arora directly, Congress is focused on what it calls a wider system of political intimidation. They say the BJP turns central agencies like the ED into weapons, while the AAP runs its own game in Punjab using the Vigilance Bureau to go after its opponents. Congress’s strategy is pretty clear: if they attack Arora head-on, they risk falling straight into the BJP’s corruption narrative against AAP. That move could make them look like they’re parroting the saffron party’s agenda. So, Congress is pitching itself as the single credible alternative to both the BJP and the AAP. They’re painting all ruling parties as equally hooked on intimidation and abusing institutions for political gain, insisting this isn’t about one corruption case—it’s a sign of a bigger culture of vendetta politics that both the BJP at the Centre and the AAP in Punjab are guilty of.
This careful balancing act, though, has opened Congress up to harsh attacks from both the BJP and its former ally, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Both accuse Congress of tiptoeing around the allegations against Arora and refusing to take a solid stand against corruption. They claim Congress’s hesitation proves it lacks the guts to confront wrongdoing and leans more on political calculus than principles.
Senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia has been especially fierce. He says Arora’s arrest is tied to GST fraud involving Hampton Sky Realty Ltd and shady fund transfers from Dubai. Majithia argues Congress is more interested in spinning a convenient story than holding anyone accountable, accusing them of trying to lump themselves together with AAP in what he calls Punjab’s “corruption nexus.” SAD, meanwhile, wants everyone to see it as the only party consistently demanding fair probes into scams.
BJP’s attack isn’t any softer. They’ve grabbed Congress’s cautious response and labeled it as hypocritical and slippery. BJP leaders say Congress is dodging the corruption issue and diverting the conversation toward the misuse of investigative agencies. BJP National Spokesperson R. P. Singh slammed Congress for not condemning corruption outright, instead just framing ED’s action as politically motivated. In his eyes, Congress is indirectly protecting AAP under the cover of criticizing agency misuse.
Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar didn’t hold back either. He called Congress out for “double speak”—condemning the misuse of agencies, but never coming right out against the charges facing Arora. Jakhar says Congress keeps hiding behind stories of political vendetta instead of standing up clearly and firmly against corruption.
For Congress, this is politically tricky territory. They’re trying to walk a narrow line, claiming BJP and AAP are equally guilty of abusing their power, but that very balancing act gives rivals ammo to question Congress’s credibility and commitment. It’s risky: Congress wants to set itself apart as the real alternative to both ruling parties, but the strategy could either sharpen its image as a genuine challenger or just leave it open to accusations of fence-sitting and indecisiveness.
(The author is the Editor of the website www.thenewsgateway.com. Views expressed are personal.)
