Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) activists led by their president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Saturday laid a seize of the residence of Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi despite multiple barricades, facing a lathi charge near the CM’s residence in which more than dozen of them were injured.
Badal said it was part of a conspiracy to prevent people from raising their voice against the Congress government which was indulging in open loot and plunder of State resources. He demanded the false case be withdrawn immediately besides calling for a probe into the unprovoked attack on Akali workers.
Earlier, Badal courted arrest along with senior party leaders and workers and announced the party’s resolve to continue to protest peacefully until the grievances of the farmers as well as the common man were not resolved. He said the voice of the people could not be throttled with sticks and that Punjabis had never tolerated tyranny and would give a befitting response to the gang of ‘lutere’ who were ruling the State at present.
In the afternoon Akali workers held a march from the MLA flats to the CM’s residence and even broke police barriers to reach the chief minister’s residence.
Holding up placards and raising slogans of “narma da muawafza jaari karo” and ‘petrol diesel sasta karo, annadaata te reham karo”, the Akali workers also demanded registration of a case against the Gandhi family in the 1984 genocide case besides demanding an end to the protection being given to the massacre perpetrators including Jagdish Tytler.
Speaking on the occasion, Badal asked the chief minister to stop photo-ops and start performing by delivering on the promises made to the people. He also asked the chief minister to give compensation of Rs 50,000 per acre to cotton growers whose crop had been destroyed by pink boll worm attack. He also demanded that the State government give immediate relief to the common man and farmers by reducing State VAT on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 per liter each.