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Drug probe: Cong workers lay siege to Punjab roads
Divisions among party leaders comes to the fore in some districts
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, January 16
On a call for a “chakka jam” given by Punjab Pradesh Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa, Congressmen today blocked roads at various places in the state. Though the overall response from the Congressmen to the agitation was satisfactory, it brought to the fore divisions among Congress leaders in some districts. Surprisingly, the response at Mohali, where Bajwa led the blockade, was lukewarm.

A protesting Congress worker being forcibly taken away by women constables in Jalandhar. Tribune Photo: Sarabjit Singh

The protest call was given to seek the CBI inquiry into the alleged links of Cabinet minister Bikram Singh Majithia with drug lord Jagdish Singh Bhola.

No untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the state. Whereas Bajwa, in a statement issued later in the day, thanked the Congress workers for the “overwhelming” response to the protest, SAD ministers in their statement said “they were thankful to Punjabis for rejecting the call for blockade” and described the protest as an “utter failure”.

At Amritsar, senior leaders like OP Soni, Sukh Sarkaria and Raj Kumar Verka chose to stay away. Commuters faced difficulties because of the road blockades at various places. The Delhi-Lahore bus had to be stopped for a while at Khanna because of traffic jam.

In Ludhiana city, Congress leaders blocked traffic at three places.

Similar, protests were also reported from Khanna, Samrala, Sahnewal, Jagraon and other parts of the district.

In Amritsar, Congress leaders and workers blocked traffic at Bhandari bridge and raised slogans against Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. In Beas, Congress workers staged a dharna at Beas bridge. As a result, traffic remained suspended for more than two hours.

In Nakodar, Congress workers blocked traffic at Jalandhar bypass.