Punjab BJP president Jattvibeil Jakhar on Saturday slammed the state’s AAP government over the cases filed against Rajya Sabha member Sandeep Pathak, calling it a move to deflect attention from the row stoked by CM Bhagwant Mann’s conduct during the Assembly session a day ago.“We are not intimidated by the FIRs,” he said reacting to the two cases filed against party leader Pathak by the Punjab Police.The police action against Pathak comes days after he, along with six other Rajya Sabha members, defected to the BJP from AAP. In political circles, Pathak was considered a key strategist for ruling AAP.The CM’s behaviour in the state Assembly on Friday had come under fire as the Opposition Congress sought alcohol and dope tests on him and other MLAs.In a mock House session, organised by the BJP, Jakhar too had accused Mann of attending the Assembly proceedings in an “inebriated” state. On Saturday, Jakhar reiterated his charge against the CM. Upping the ante, he said the BJP would raise the issue with Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and press for accountability for the conduct.Over the police action against Pathak, the state BJP chief said AAP was showing “double standards”. He said the leaders who were earlier praised by it were now being harassed and portrayed as villian.“Isn’t it strange that the government has extended police protection to its own MLA facing corruption charges,” he said apparently referring to the restoration of security cover to AAP’s Jalandhar Central MLA Raman Arora.Arora was arrested by the Vigilance Bureau in a corruption case in May last year. He is currently out on bail. His security cover was withdrawn by the state police in the run-up to his arrest. Jakhar said the BJP stood firmly with its leaders and would oppose every form of “political vendetta”. He also cautioned officials against “overstepping legal boundaries”. Jakhar said people of Punjab were closely observing the developments and would respond in the 2027 state Assembly elections.He also claimed that public perception regarding the BJP was changing as the party offered a strong alternative to address the state’s challenges.Mission cover-up: SADThe Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) termed the police action against Pathak a “mission cover up”.Party president Sukhbir Badal said it was an attempt to deflect people’s attention from Mann’s “misconduct” in the Assembly a day earlier.“The entire conduct of CM Mann is out in public domain. However, it was a matter of concern that Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan did not rise up to the occasion to protect the dignity of the House by taking appropriate action, including subjecting the CM to the required medical tests,” he said.Senior SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia asked if Pathak had committed any wrongdoing earlier while being in AAP, then why Arvind Kejriwal and Chief Minister Mann “kept supporting and protecting him”.He said if the cases related to earlier actions, then Kejriwal and Mann should also be named as co- conspirators.