COUNTER DHARNA BY CONG AGAINST DRUGS - Sack Harsimrat from Union Cabinet, says PPCC chief

Tuesday, 06/01/2015

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/sack-harsimrat-from-union-cabinet-says-ppcc-chief/26677.html

Jalandhar : Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Partap Singh Bajwa today demanded that Harsimrat Kaur Badal should be sacked from the Union Ministry and her husband and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal booked for sedition. He also demanded imposition of the President’s rule in the state.

He said this while addressing a gathering during a protest against the state government over drugs here today.

Bajwa said since Sukhbir had raised a question on the integrity of the BSF and the Central forces, his wife, a Central minister, must be sacked from her Cabinet portfolio.

“We demand that Sukhbir be booked under Section 124-A of the IPC as he has spoken against the forces that guard our borders,” he said.

He said Sukhbir was holding a dharna at the border just to divert attention of the people from the names of Akali leaders, especially his brother-in-law and Revenue Minister Bikram Majithia, who have been interrogated in the Bhola drug case by the Enforcement Directorate.

Badals’ effigies burnt
Amritsar: Rural Congress workers staged a protest at the India Gate here. Party leaders accused SAD leaders of patronising the drug trade and termed its protest as a gimmick to mislead the people.

Effigies of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Deputy CM Sukhbir Badal, Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, state BJP president Kamal Sharma, CPSs; Virsa Singh Valtoha, Inderbir Singh Bolaria and Harmeet Singh Sandhu were burnt, accusing them of patronising drug trade in the state.

The protesters were holding placards carrying slogans such as "Badal di takdi chita toldi" (Badal's scales (party symbol) are used for weighing drugs) and "Mai majhe da jarnail, dob dite sarae majhail" (I am the General of Majha and I have drowned all its residents).

No MLA attends protest
Sangrur: No MLA or halqa in charge of the Congress, except district president Mai Roop Kaur Bagrian, was present at the dharna organised by the District Congress Committee outside the district administrative complex in Sangrur on Monday. There are seven Assembly constituencies in Sangrur district out of which two (Dhuri and Lehragaga) are represented by Congress MLAs.

Bagrian admitted that no Congress MLA or halqa in charge from any Assembly constituency, except her, was present at the dharna. She, however, claimed a large number of number of workers participated in the protest. She said many leaders had gone to New Delhi as national president of the Youth Congress Raja warring was to assume charge of the office. Bagrian demanded imposition of the President's rule in the state.

Memo submitted
Hoshiarpur: MLA Sunder Sham Arora led the Congress dharna outside the district administrative complex here. The protestors raised slogans against the state government blaming it for the spread of drug menace. They alleged the state ministers were hand in glove with drug traders, smugglers and terrorists. A few leaders were present at the start of the dharna, but the number went up as the time progressed. Sunder Sham Arora alleged the state government had failed to control drug trade in state as its own representatives worked in connivance with drug lords.

Chill hits attendance
Gurdaspur: With chilly weather acting as a deterrent, attendance remained thin at the protest rally organised by the Gurdaspur District Congress Committee (GDCC) in front of the Deputy Commissioner's (DC) office on Tuesday. The protest fizzled out in terms of crowd presence although four out of five MLAs from this constituency were present.