Bathinda, May 12, 2019: Union food processing industries minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal today said ‘goondas’ had entered Bathinda at the instance of Congress candidate Raja Warring and the blessings of chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and that the State police was facilitating them in disrupting Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) meetings.
Addressing worker meetings in Budhlada assembly segment today, Mrs. Harsimrat Badal asked the Election Commission to intervene and stop Congress goons from creating law of the jungle in Bathinda. “Outsiders should be checked from indulging in criminal activities. Clear cut instructions need to be sent to the district police to ensure the opposition can indulge in free and fair campaigning.
Simultaneously miscreants responsible for disturbing Akali meetings should be identified and arrested”.
Stating that there was a larger conspiracy to foment trouble and blame SAD for the same, Mrs. Badal said yesterday at Mandi Kalan the police did not stop miscreants from throwing bricks at Akali workers. “The plan is to engineer violence and then take action against Akalis for disturbing the peace”, she added.
The Bathinda mp said simultaneously plans were afoot to create communal tension in the constituency. “Raja Warring delivered a communal speech at Budhladha few days back when he tried to incite one community against another while referring to the slights suffered by one community during the period of terrorism. However despite his hate speech which is in public domain no action has been taken against him. The EC should take prompt notice of this development and book Warring for trying to incite violence”.
Stating that peace and communal harmony was being vitiated in Bathinda as part of a larger Congress conspiracy, Mrs. Badal said Akali workers were being threatened and even being warned to stay away from polling booths. She said even the police force was taking orders from the Congress party. She said this was seen recently when policemen escorted ‘sarkari’ protestors led by Baljit Daduwal to her residence in Badal village.
Mrs Badal said the Congress party had stooped down to indulge in such nefarious activities because it realised the ground was slipping beneath its feet due to its inability to deliver on its promises. She urged Akali workers to remain in ‘chardhi kala’ stating the entire top leadership was with them and would not not allow oppression against them. She also urged the people to give an appropriate ‘jawaab’ to the Congress for trying to engineer violence and trying to divide Punjabis on communal lines on May 19.