New Delhi, May 29 (PTI) The BJP on Sunday blamed AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and his party colleague Raghav Chaddha for the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, saying "anti-national and subversive elements are having free play" in Punjab under the AAP govt

Moosewala was shot dead Sunday by unidentified assailants in Punjab's Mansa district, a day after the state government withdrew his security cover.

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Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, party spokesperson Sambit Patra alleged that the secret list which had the names of those whose security was removed was made public, exposing those people to mortal threat.

"In a way, it was an open invitation to murderers, that you can do you work... Arvind Kejriwal is responsible for this murder," Patra said.

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Along with Kejriwal, Patra held AAP's Raghav Chaddha too responsible for the gruesome murder.

"Both these people should apologise and explain what is happening in Punjab today," he said. Chaddha was the party's co-in charge for the latest Punjab polls, in which the AAP was swept to power in the border state.

Speaking at the same press conference, BJP leader Manjinder Singh Sirsa got apparently emotional.

"Moosewala's death is the result of cheap politics of AAP. Cheap politics of Arvind Kejriwal, who made public the secret list which had names of those whose security had been removed.

"Kejriwal used to demand that he should be given control of police; now see what he is doing with it. Kejriwal moves around with 90 policemen of Punjab Police, Raghav Chaddha with 45 policemen," Sirsa said, demanding a police case against Kejriwal in the matter.

BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh, who hails from Punjab, said the law and order in the state is "on the brink of collapsing". "Under AAP government subversive and anti-national elements have started having a free play," he said.

Moosewala, 27, had joined the Congress last year ahead of the Punjab assembly polls.

Punjab Director General of Police V K Bhawra said the killing of famous singer Sidhu Moosewala seems to be a fallout of an inter-gang rivalry and that the Lawrence Bishnoi gang was involved in it.

He said a Special Investigation Team (SIT) will be set up to investigate the killing.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)