Punjab withdraws security of 5 ex-AAP MPs after BJP switch; Centre deploys CRPF, Raghav Chadha retains Z-category cover

CHANDIGARH: The AAP govt in Punjab has withdrawn the security cover of five Rajya Sabha MPs from the state who defected to the BJP, ordering state police personnel to vacate their New Delhi residences.In a counter-move, the BJP-led Centre has stepped in to provide the MPs — cricketer-turned-politician Harbhajan Singh, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Ashok Mittal, Rajinder Gupta and Sandeep Pathak — with Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) protection.One affected MP told TOI that while his Punjab Police detail of four personnel was removed, the Centre almost immediately replaced them with a larger contingent of 15 CRPF personnel.A Punjab govt functionary said they asked their personnel to come back, handing over the security to Delhi Police. Police in Punjab have been instructed to provide security to the MPs only on a need basis or for specific local programmes, he added.The official clarified that except for Raghav Chadha, who holds Z-category cover in Punjab and Delhi, none of the other MPs had categorised security.Chadha was designated a Z protectee by the Centre on April 15 after the state withdrew his Z-plus cover. This shift took place following Chadha's public fallout with AAP leadership after his removal as the party's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha.The security withdrawal — Harbhajan Singh had the largest of over a dozen personnel — coincides with AAP continuing its protests against the MPs across Ludhiana, Bathinda, Faridkot, and Chandigarh. On Saturday, protesters defaced the main entrance of Harbhajan Singh's Jalandhar home and the entrance of Lovely Professional University (LPU), owned by Mittal, with "gaddar" graffiti.On April 24, Chadha, Pathak, and Mittal—whose premises were recently raided by the ED—held a presser to announce their merger into the BJP, alongside four other party MPs, including Swati Maliwal and Sahney.