Cong demands cancellation of cases registered during farmers’ stir
Sunday, 18/10/2015
http://epaper.dailypostindia.com/Details.aspx?id=142576&boxid=58181&uid=&dat=2015-10-18
Chandigarh: The Punjab Government should withdraw all the cases registered during the recent farmers’ agitation with immediate effect, the main Opposition Congress party has demanded.
In a joint statement issued here, on Saturday, Congress MLAs Parminder Singh Pinki, Ajit inder Singh Mofar, Rakesh Pandey, Surinder Dawar, Gurkirat Singh Kotli, Navtej Cheema and Bharat Bhushan Ashu said that the cases registered against the farmers sitting peacefully on the protests should be taken back without any conditions. “The government is acting like a dictator whereas the police used brutal force on the innocent farmers and then registered false cases on them,” they alleged.
Showing solidarity with party’s Ludhiana MP Ravneet Singh Bittu, whose present judicial custody was on Saturday extended till October 31 by a local court in Bathinda, the MLAs said, “very soon, we will approach the Governor of Punjab for cancellation of all the cases registered against the sitting MP Bittu”. They further said that Bittu has done everything for the sake of the farmers of Punjab. “He is an elected representative of the Lok Sabha, it was his duty to raise the issue related to the farmers of Punjab, which he did. The farmers of Punjab were sitting on the roads and streets of the state due to negligence of the governments. Already the farmer suicides have sharply risen in Punjab, the debt on the farmers has also multiplied. The present Union government is proposing to go away with the MSP regime and dismantling the FCI. Where will the farmers of the state go?” the Opposition legislators asserted.
Bathinda : Congress MP from Ludhiana Ravneet Singh Bittu was again sent to judicial custody and this time he would serve the jail term till October 31.
As his previous judicial remand was till Saturday, the police produced him in the local court in connection with two cases registered against him during a violent protest in Bathinda on the issue of loss cotton crop in Punjab due to whitefly attack. The court of JMIC going by the facts and arguments extended the remand for another 14 days. Bittu along with other party workers was booked for rioting and other charges after a protest here on September 30.
He accompanied by Vikramjit Singh Mofar, son of the Congress MLA from Sardulgarh Ajit Inder Singh Mofar, had surrendered in the court of judicial magistrate five days back.
Bittu had first asked the police to arrest him but as the cops realiised that before arresting an MP they were supposed to take the permission of Lok Sabha speaker had denied accepting him request and finally he had surrendered in the court of law.
Among others in the case were Khushbaj Singh Jatana and Bhupinder Singh Gora, who all were booked in a case registered at the civil lines police station under Sections 148 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from duty) and 353 of the IPC after a clash between protesting Congressmen and cops here.
Bittu, Mofar to stay in Bathinda jail till Oct 31.
