Bathinda: In election-bound Punjab, even a dance performance at an Independence Day function has triggered a political skirmish.Congress MLA Pargat Singh on Sunday alleged that elderly health department employees were presented as beneficiaries of the state’s knee-replacement scheme, while AAP’s Ferozepur Urban MLA, Ranbir Singh Bhullar, defended the performance as an expression of beneficiaries’ happiness.Five people, including three senior citizens, danced to ‘Beh ke dekh jawana babe bhangra paunde ne’ (Sit down, young men, and watch the seniors do the bhangra) as part of a health department tableau showcasing the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana, under which enrolled beneficiaries are eligible for treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh. Chief minister Bhagwant Mann was present during the performance.Sources, however, said the three elderly performers were health department employees and not patients who had undergone knee-replacement procedures. Ferozepur deputy commissioner and civil surgeon were unavailable for comment.Pargat accused the AAP govt of creating a false narrative. Reacting to a post by AAP Punjab, he said, “The elderly men shown dancing in the tableau before the CM Bhagwant Mann were Health Department employees, not patients.” He questioned the use of elderly people for political publicity, saying, “Elderly people deserve dignity—not political exploitation.”The controversy began after Tractor2TwitterPunjab, an activism-related social media handle, described the performance as “peak clownery in Punjab”, claiming senior citizens who had received free knee-replacement treatment were made to dance at the Independence Day celebrations. The post drew contrasting reactions, with some criticising the performance and others saying beneficiaries were simply celebrating free treatment.AAP’s Ferozepur Urban MLA, Ranbir Singh Bhullar, defended the performance, telling TOI that those involved had benefited from the state govt scheme and were expressing their happiness in the presence of the CM. He denied they had been made to dance to promote the scheme as a major achievement.The conflicting claims over whether the performers were beneficiaries or health department employees could not be independently resolved.
