A purported video showing Ludhiana South AAP MLA Rajinderpal Kaur Chhina confronting and allegedly slapping a tipper-truck driver surfaced online on Tuesday prompting Opposition parties to call for action against the legislator. However, Chhina denied slapping the driver.
The video shows Chhina, accompanied by her gunman and a few others, intercepting a tipper truck on the Daba-Lohara road. She opens the driver’s door, prompting the driver to step outside. The MLA then appears to slap him in the presence of several onlookers triggering a heated argument between the two.
The incident reportedly took place early Monday morning. The driver later sat on a brief protest along with his supporters and told the media that the MLA had “slapped” him after following his vehicle and stopping him. He claimed she later accused him of reckless driving.
The latest controversy is not the first time Chhina has faced public scrutiny. In 2022, she had allegedly publicly rebuked IPS officer Jyoti Yadav, who was then posted as an ACP, Ludhiana. In February this year, she got an FIR registered against her daughter-in-law, alleging an Australian PR fraud involving her son.
Denying slapping the driver, Chhina offered a different account of the incident. “I did not slap anyone,” she said, claiming she had been receiving complaints from residents about overloaded tipper trucks creating problems in the Daba area. She said she had already taken up the issue with the deputy commissioner and SDM.
{{/usCountry}}Denying slapping the driver, Chhina offered a different account of the incident. “I did not slap anyone,” she said, claiming she had been receiving complaints from residents about overloaded tipper trucks creating problems in the Daba area. She said she had already taken up the issue with the deputy commissioner and SDM.
{{/usCountry}}Chhina said road construction was underway in the area and the movement of an overloaded tipper was adding to the chaos. She claimed the truck had hit a motorcycle and she intervened to prevent it from hitting another vehicle.
She claimed that she merely asked the driver to hand over the vehicle keys, after which she called the police and handed him over for further action. She also claimed the tipper was overloaded and appeared to be imbalanced, and that the driver later apologised to her.
Chhina alleged that Opposition parties were trying to use the incident to defame her ahead of the Punjab elections.
Inspector Jatinder Singh, SHO, Daba police station, said police had issued a challan to the driver for wrong parking and later released him.
BJP, Cong attack MLA
The incident drew sharp reactions from Opposition leaders. Former Union minister, ex-Ludhiana MP and BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu, while sharing the video on X, accused Chhina of “arrogance of power” and “blatant hooliganism”.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Chugh also condemned the alleged manhandling, saying that “power cannot be a licence to intimidate ordinary citizens.”
Congress constituency in-charge Ishwarjot Singh Cheema demanded that the police register a case against Chhina and conduct an impartial investigation.