Parvesh Verma in trouble? Legal notices sent to BJP leader over ‘Punjab Cars in Delhi’ remark

Delhi Elections 2025: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for Delhi seat Parvesh Verman has been sent a stream of legal notices by several individuals over his ‘Punjab cars in Delhi’ remark. The legal notices have warned further action if the BJP leader did not publicly apologise, NDTV reported. 

Parvesh Verma’s ‘Punjab Cars in Delhi’ remark

BJP leader Parvesh Verma sparked controversy ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections by alleging that thousands of vehicles with Punjab registration plates are flooding the national capital Delhi. 

During a media interaction, Parvesh Verma implied that the vehicles with ‘Punjab registration’ numbers are being used by members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), including Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and other officials, to influence voters in Delhi. 

Parvesh Verma raised concerns about security, particularly with Republic Day approaching, questioning the purpose of the Punjab vehicles and the individuals inside them. The BJP leader also claimed that Punjab government, where AAP is in power, employees were being brought to Delhi under the guise of AAP workers to campaign for the party, suggesting that they were distributing money and alcohol to sway voters.

Parvesh Verma informed that he had defamation suits against Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann for allegedly distorting his comments, demanding ₹100 crore in damages and an apology within 48 hours.

What do the legal notices to Parvesh Verma say?

In response to BJP leader Parvesh Verma’s remarks, several individuals from both Delhi and Punjab have sent him legal notices demanding a public apology. 

These notices describe his statements as “baseless” and “misleading,” particularly in light of the upcoming Republic Day celebrations, NDTV report added. 

One notice explicitly states that the BJP leader’s implications regarding a security threat posed by these vehicles are unfounded and constitute ‘hate speech’, the media report informed. 

What did Bhagwant Mann say?

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann condemned Parvesh Verma’s statements as deeply insulting to Punjabis. 

The AAP leader expressed that such remarks are not only offensive but paint Punjabis as a threat to national security, which he finds unacceptable. 

CM Mann argued that there are no restrictions on individuals from any part of India visiting Delhi, and he criticized the BJP for targeting Punjabis in this manner. 

He stated that every Punjabi is feeling hurt by these accusations and called for an apology from the BJP, asserting that questioning their patriotism is a dangerous political tactic.

Delhi elections 2025

As Delhi prepares for its Assembly elections on February 5, 2025, tensions between the AAP and BJP are escalating. The contest is expected to be fierce, with Arvind Kejriwal leading AAP against Parvesh Verma of the BJP and Congress’s Sandeep Dikshit for the Delhi seat. 

The political landscape in Delhi has been dominated by AAP in recent years, with the party securing a significant victory in 2020 by winning 62 out of 70 seats.