Police used water cannons on Friday against Punjab Congress leaders and workers after they tried to break through barricades to ‘gherao’ the state Assembly in Chandigarh during a protest against the AAP government.
Police had placed barricades and deployed personnel outside the Punjab Congress office in Sector 15 to stop Congress workers from moving towards the Vidhan Sabha. The Congress had called for the ‘gherao’ to protest what it described as the failure of the Bhagwant Mann government to fulfil its poll promises.
Before marching towards the Assembly, Congress leaders and workers staged a protest and raised slogans against the Mann government. When demonstrators, led by Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, tried to break through the barricades and move towards the Vidhan Sabha, police used water cannons to disperse them.
The strong jets of water knocked off the turbans of several protesters. Warring and other party workers later sat on the road after being stopped from moving towards the Assembly.
Speaking to mediapersons, Warring alleged that the Mann government had “completely failed” on every front. He also criticised the AAP government over its alleged failure to provide Rs 1,000 every month to women, which was promised by the AAP before the 2022 Assembly elections.
Warring said the government should now give Rs 1,000 per month along with Rs 48,000 to every woman for the amount that has accumulated over the last four years, as the AAP had promised financial aid after coming to power in 2022.
He also added that no new medical college had been established and the pension scheme for employees had not been implemented. He also claimed that the government was spending huge amounts of money on advertisements.
Warring also condemned the government over the alleged deterioration of law and order in the state. He said incidents of murder and firing were happening every day and that businessmen were receiving extortion threats from gangsters. He further alleged that even policemen were not safe, citing hand grenade blasts at police stations.
“People of Punjab do not have any expectation from the Punjab government,” Warring said while referring to the state budget to be presented by the AAP government on Sunday.
Congress leader Sandeep Sandhu flayed the Chandigarh administration for using water cannons to stop demonstrators from heading towards the Assembly. “We have the right to raise our voice outside the assembly... Our voice cannot be suppressed this way. This is murder of democracy,” Sandhu stated this while criticising the police action. Several party leaders, including Congress MLA Pargat Singh, were present during the protest.
Also read: Cong MLAs walk out during Punjab Governor’s address
Follow us
