CHANDIGARH: A video of three elderly men dancing at Punjab’s state-level Independence Day function in Ferozepur has triggered a political slugfest, with the opposition alleging that they were presented as beneficiaries of the state government’s knee-replacement scheme despite being health department employees, while the AAP defended the performance as an expression of beneficiaries’ happiness.The video shows the elderly men dancing to ‘Beh ke dekh jawana babe bhangra paunde ne’ as part of a health department tableau showcasing the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana. Chief minister Bhagwant Mann was present during the performance.Five people, including the three senior citizens, took part in the dance performance. Under the Mukh Mantri Sehat Yojana, enrolled beneficiaries are eligible for treatment of up to Rs 10 lakh.Sources, however, said the three elderly performers seen in the video were health department employees and not patients who had undergone knee-replacement procedures.Ferozepur deputy commissioner and civil surgeon were unavailable for comment.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.Congress MLA Pargat Singh accused the AAP government 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.”Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring demanded an apology from chief minister Bhagwant Mann, alleging that the government misled the public by presenting dancers as beneficiaries of a health insurance scheme who had undergone knee replacement surgery.SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia also criticised the AAP government, alleging that people who had never undergone knee replacement surgery were made to dance and projected as beneficiaries who had successfully undergone the procedure.AAP’s Ferozepur Urban MLA Ranbir Singh Bhullar, however, defended the performance. Speaking to TOI, he said those involved had benefited from the state government scheme and were expressing their happiness in the presence of the chief minister.He denied that they had been made to dance to promote the scheme as a major achievement.AAP Punjab in-charge and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia also rejected the opposition’s allegations, saying opposition leaders should focus on addressing issues within their own parties.He said, “The way Bhagwant Mann has shown concern for Punjab and its people is something no party or CM in the history of Punjab has ever done before.”The conflicting claims over whether the performers were beneficiaries or health department employees could not be independently resolved.
