SAD Hits Out at Punjab Govt for Lodging Case Against Party Leaders, Workers

A day after the Punjab police booked its leaders and workers on the charge of violating Covid curbs, the SAD hit out at the Congress-led Punjab government on Tuesday for “suppressing” the voice of those standing by the people in this hour of crisis. Police registered a case on Monday against Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and other senior party leaders, besides 200 unidentified people for staging a sit-in against Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu in violation of the restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Acting on Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s directions, the police registered the case under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Disaster Management Act. The protesters were demanding Sidhu’s dismissal from the cabinet over the “diversion” of coronavirus vaccines to private hospitals.

Several Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders and workers were also booked for holding a protest on Sunday. Reacting to the registration of the case, senior SAD leader and former MP Prem Singh Chandumajra said the state government is trying to “suppress” those who are standing by the people in this hour of unprecedented crisis.

He dubbed the state government’s move as “bizarre and ridiculous” and said the SAD will not stop standing by people. Chandumajra said the Congress-led government in Punjab has “completely let the people down” in the time of the pandemic.

When the SAD demanded free vaccines and healthcare for people, the government was resorting to “suppressing” it by registering cases against the party leadership, he said. Chandumajra claimed that the SAD had followed all the Covid norms at the sit-in staged in front of Sidhu’s residence.

“In a democracy, people have the right to question the government, but it is behaving like a dictator,” he alleged.

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