Several members of families of farm suicide victims and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLAs on Friday staged a protest outside Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal’s residence here. They were demanding that the Congress include in the State budget its poll promise of giving a government job to one member from each victim’s family as well as a compensation of ₹10 lakh.
The police detained several protesters, including former Minister and Alkali leader Bikram Singh Majithia, after they blocked the entrance of the residence of Mr. Badal.
Former Chief Minister and Akali Dal patron Parkash Singh Badal said the farm suicide victim families wanted a personal audience with the Finance Minister so that they could request him to include the Congress government’s ‘promise’ in the State budget.
“The Finance Minister could have come out and taken their representation. Instead, he let loose the police force on them,” alleged Mr. Badal. Condemning the police behaviour, Mr. Badal said the action was unprecedented and against all principles of democracy.
He also hit out at the Congress government for moving a privilege motion in the Assembly against SAD legislators who had accompanied the farm suicide victim families. He said the legislators were only assisting the victim families and had taken on a just public cause.
“Such actions cannot thwart the SAD from fighting against injustice,” he said. He also lashed out at the Aam Aadmi Party for supporting the privilege motion.
