Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday attacked the Opposition Shiromani Akali Dal for indulging in “street politics at the cost of people’s welfare”.
The Chief Minister was reacting to the recent road blockade staged by SAD leaders and workers across the State in protest against the alleged attacks on party workers and registration of “false” cases against them in the run-up to the civic polls.
“All political parties should resolve not to block highways, but to find alternative ways to protest,” said Capt. Singh, adding that any form of protest that causes inconvenience to citizens cannot be termed “democratic” and blocking the National Highway is a crime under the law.
Stern warning
The Chief Minister warned that nobody would be allowed to break the law in Punjab. “We would not allow a law and order breakdown in the State, nor would we permit anyone to hold the common people to ransom,” he told reporters here.
“A number of people suffered as a result of the Akali dharnas, which were nothing but sheer theatrics,” said Capt. Singh, adding that such acts are a sign of petty minds which do not see beyond short-term personal gains.
He said that military convoys could not move and essential supplies could not reach the soldiers standing guard at the borders in time because of “this ill-thought and abhorrent decision of the Akalis to sit on dharnas over a complete non-issue”.
“The Akalis did not even take into consideration the problems that blocking the highway would cause to the pilgrims visiting the Golden Temple — the world’s most visited religious site — even though they claim to be the guardians of the Sikh religion,” the Chief Minister said.
He said if the Akalis had a genuine grouse on the issue of filing nomination papers for the civic body elections, they should have jumped at the opportunity given by the State Election Commission in the form of an extra day to submit the same.
“The fact that not a single nominee came out to file the papers on the additional day completely nailed SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal's lie in this regard,” Capt. Singh said.
“The SAD seems to be going the Aam Aadmi Party way with their `dramas’, without realising that they would meet the same fate as the AAP,” he added.
Judicial probe sought
Meanwhile, a joint SAD-BJP delegation urged Punjab Governor V.P. Singh Badnore to order a judicial inquiry into an alleged political-administration-election observer nexus, which, according to the Akali Dal, had throttled democracy in elections to the municipal bodies in Punjab.
Mr. Sukhbir Badal and BJP State chief Vijay Sampla alleged that the “nexus” had conspired and worked in tandem to harass the SAD-BJP candidates at every stage of the election process.
