Punjab: Congress leaders taken into custody for holding protest at CM Bhagwant Mann's residence

Chandigarh: Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and other senior party leaders on Thursday were taken into custody for holding a protest at the chief minister’s residential complex here after Bhagwant Mann allegedly failed to keep his appointment with them.

The Chandigarh Police took all protesting Congress leaders to a nearby police station after taking them into custody, officials said, adding they were later released.

The Congress leaders claimed that they were called inside the CM’s residence, frisked and their mobile phones also taken away. Warring said they have decided that they will not meet the chief minister from now onwards for the “insult” meted out to them.

Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, who was also present during the protest, said they have decided to boycott CM Mann. We will completely boycott Mann, Bajwa said.

Chief Minister Mann, however, denied that the Congress leaders were given time by him and said they held a protest in support of their party leaders facing corruption charges. Mann was apparently referring to the arrest of former forest minister and Congress leader Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and naming of Sangat Singh Gilzian in a corruption case.

But the Congress leaders claimed that they wanted to raise the issue of alleged deteriorating law and order in the state with the CM. Earlier, around 50 Congress leaders, including Warring, Bajwa, former deputy CMs Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and O P Soni, and former ministers Aruna Chaudhary and Bharat Bhushan Ashu participated in the protest.

Bajwa claimed that they took time from the chief ministers’ office to meet Mann and they were called to reach at 9 am on Thursday. Warring claimed that when they reached the CM’s residence in the morning, they were made to wait for 45 minutes. Later, they were called inside the residence, said Warring, adding that the Congress leaders were “insulted” as they were frisked and their mobile phones taken away.

The opposition leaders were later told that the CM is busy and he could meet them on Friday at 1 pm, he said. Then Congress leaders held a protest inside the CM’s residential complex and raised slogans against the Mann-led government.

Bajwa said he has never seen such a government which insulted the opposition leaders. “Our mobile phones were taken away and we were frisked. I never faced such an insult,” said Bajwa while calling it a black day for democracy.

Bajwa said their objective of the meeting was to raise the issue of alleged deteriorating law and order. He further said that the Congress leaders also wanted to demand from the CM to hand over the Sidhu Moose Wala murder case to CBI or NIA as the Punjab Police could not make a headway in this case. On the charge of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party that they did not take time, Bajwa said that if they had not taken time to meet Mann, then how were they allowed inside the CM residence.

Before being taken into custody, an argument also took place between some Congress leaders and police officials. According to police, a case has been registered under relevant sections, including 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions) of the IPC in the matter.

Mann said the Congressmen came to his residence without taking time and held a protest in support of their leaders facing corruption charges. In a tweet, he said supporting those who looted Punjab is proof that “bribery is in their blood”. AAP MP Raghav Chadha also took on the Congress leaders for their protest.

A farcical theatre of absurdity is on display by Punjab Congress, as they staged a protest in support of misdeeds of their corrupt ministers. Suddenly they all have gone restive as skeletons have started to tumble out of the closet. It seems corruption is in the very DNA of Cong, said Chadha in a tweet.

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