Thousands of Congress workers, led by PPCC president Raja Warring, marched on the PSPCL headquarters in Patiala on September 14 to protest Punjab's ongoing power crisis. Police blocked the route with barricades and fired water cannons on the crowd as workers pushed forward. Addressing the gathering, Warring called the crisis "man-made," blaming corruption and mismanagement under the AAP government. He alleged that outgoing PSPCL Chairman Basant Garg was appointed despite not meeting the technocrat requirement, and attended office for just 20 of his 300 days in the post. He also questioned the disappearance of ₹7,000 crore from a ₹22,000 crore power subsidy owed to PSPCL, and alleged inflated power-purchase rates and broker-driven loan deals had deepened the crisis. Warring announced a follow-up protest in Chandigarh the next day, led by AICC in-charge Sachin Pilot, demanding the removal of Finance Minister Harpal Cheema over the death of Gulzar Singh.