Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Friday defended the state government’s move to halt the BJP’s public outreach camps, asserting that the step was taken to safeguard citizens’ personal information under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
Cheema said no one, including BJP leaders, could be permitted to gather personal details from the public under any guise. He questioned whether the BJP would accept accountability if any frauds or financial scams emerged from the data collection drive being carried out through its awareness camps.
Addressing a press conference, Cheema launched a sharp attack on the BJP, branding it a “vote thief party” ever since it assumed power at the Centre in 2014. Referring to alleged irregularities ranging from the Chandigarh mayoral election to reported discrepancies in Bihar’s voter rolls, he claimed the BJP’s data collection activity in Punjab was aimed at manipulating electoral rolls and could even expose people to risks such as bank fraud.
The minister underlined that the Digital Personal Data Protection Act was specifically designed to protect the privacy of citizens and prevent the misuse of sensitive information. He said the BJP’s demand for key documents like Aadhaar at these camps was unlawful and warned that such practices could have serious consequences.