Akali Dal patriarch Parkash Singh Badal today condemned the use of force on peaceful Akali workers, farmers, and SAD leaders by the Chandigarh Police, saying it marked “a painful and dark day for democracy in the country’s history”.
The former Chief Minister warned the governments, saying: “If those in power think this would break the spirit of the peaceful Akali workers, they are sadly mistaken. They have learned nothing from history. Punjabis have fought the worst form of repression during the Emergency and in 1984.”
On October 1, former Union Minister and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal along with Rajya Sabha MP Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Dera Bassi MLA NK Sharma, and Youth Akali Dal president Parambans Singh Bunty Romana were detained by the Chandigarh Police while trying to cross the UT border during a protest against the farm laws.
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The police resorted to mild lathi-charge to disperse the SAD workers during which Bhunder fell on the ground.
Meanwhile, SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal along with his supporters was stopped at the Mullanpur barrier by the police. The police resorted to lathi-charge, besides using the water cannon, on Akali workers. The police detained Sukhbir and other Akali leaders Bikram Singh Majithia, Jagir Kaur, Prem Singh Chandumajra, and Dr. Daljeet Singh Cheema.
All the detained leaders were taken to the Sector 17 police station and released later.