Punjab: AAP MLA Rajinder Pal Kaur Chhina accused of slapping tipper truck driver

CHANDIGARH: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from Ludhiana South Rajinder Pal Kaur Chhina allegedly slapped a tipper truck driver in her constituency. A video of the incident, which took place on Monday, went viral on social media, prompting opposition parties to accuse the ruling party of high-handedness.

The video showed a tipper truck entering Daba-Lohara Road, followed by the MLA’s vehicle. Chhina, accompanied by her gunman and two to three others, intercepted the driver after he allegedly took some time to give way to her vehicle.

The truck was allegedly stopped and Chhina got out of her vehicle. She approached the truck, asked the driver to get down and opened the driver’s-side door. The driver then stepped out. A heated argument followed, after which Chhina was allegedly seen slapping him. She was also seen making some phone calls.

The incident was captured on CCTV and the footage later surfaced on social media. Eyewitnesses said they were shocked to see the driver being slapped and claimed there was no apparent provocation.

Chhina, however, denied slapping the driver. She said she stopped him for allegedly breaking traffic rules and handed him over to the police.

Chhina said the incident that she had already approached the deputy commissioner and other officials seeking restrictions on the entry of heavy vehicles in the area.

“Road construction is under way in the area and a JCB is deployed. The tipper was adding to the chaos. The tipper had hit a bike and I rushed to stop the driver before he hit another vehicle,” she said.

“I received a complaint from residents that this particular truck driver was driving rashly. He was stopped and I asked him to hand over the keys of the vehicle. I did not slap him. I then called the police and handed him over," Chinna said.

"The Opposition has portrayed the incident in a bad light to defame me, claiming that I slapped the driver, whereas I had raised my arm to take the keys from him,” she said.

Chhina said she reported the matter to Daba police station and handed over the keys and the driver to the police. “Since the roads in the area are narrow, such rash driving can prove fatal for commuters,” she said. She added that she also had a video in which the driver admitted to driving rashly.

A police officer said the tipper driver was issued a challan for wrong parking and later released.

Meanwhile, the driver staged a dharna with his supporters late on Monday night. He later told local media that the MLA’s vehicle was following him and that he got out of the truck as soon as it was stopped. He alleged that Chhina then slapped him, saying he was driving recklessly.

Senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Majithia criticised the incident in a post on X. “When Guru Dokhi Bhagwant himself calls the death of Dalit Gulzar a “minor incident”, his followers are bound to feel emboldened! The assault of a poor truck driver by AAP MLA Chhina in Ludhiana is a result of the same mindset. In their eyes, the poor have no worth at all,” he wrote.

BJP leader and former Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu also criticised Chhina in a post on X. “The brazen assault on a poor truck driver by AAP MLA Chhina simply over not getting a side on road is absolute arrogance of power and blatant hooliganism," he wrote.

"Under Bhagwant Mann Government, elected legislators have turned law unto themselves, openly humiliating hard-working citizens on streets. Will CM Mann clarify whether an FIR will be registered against this MLA or will his government actively shield such street bullying?” he asked.