Congress, AAP leaders lock horns over vegetable vends near park

Our Correspondent

Mandi Ahmedgarh, March 11

The police remained on their toes handling the situation after Congress and Aam Aadmi Party leaders of Dakha Assembly segment of Ludhiana district locked horns over a ‘petty’ issue of removing vegetable vends from the vicinity of a village park.

Led by Ludhiana Lok Sabha member Ravneet Singh Bittu, Congress leaders and workers organised a dharna in front of the park on Ahmedgarh-Raikot highway, seeking an FIR against AAP leader Harnek Singh Sekhon, who is also the Mullanpur Dakha Market Committee chairman, for allegedly assaulting former sarpanch Kuldeep Singh Boparai. Congress leaders alleged that Boparai’s turban had fallen in the scuffle.

Tension erupted at Chhapar village when AAP activists led by Harnek Singh Sekhon asked vendors sitting in front of the park to shift their stalls to some other place and Congress activists led by former sarpanch Kuldeep Singh Boparai and former member Block Samiti Ravinder Singh Romi reached to support the vendors.

The situation turned ugly after Sekhon and Boparai scuffled and the Congress workers sat on a dharna to demand action against Sekhon and his associates.

Bittu, who later joined the dharna with the PPCC General Secretary Captain Sandeep Sandhu, alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party leaders had been bullying Congress leaders and activists under the patronage of the police and civil administration. Bittu threatened to intensify the stir if Sekhon and his associates were not booked for assaulting Boparai and hurting his religious sentiments by ‘tossing’ his turban. “Presently, we are sitting on dharna on this road only, but will widen our field of action if the police did not register an FIR,” said Bittu, reiterating his threat to lock the offices of police personnel in case of inaction.

Sekhon, on the other hand, said the vends had been removed from the vicinity of the park on the demand of area residents and visitors. “It is not a question of my or somebody else’s prestige. We have taken the action after residents complained about the nuisance being created by illegal vends in front of a park set up with public money,” said Sekhon.

Dakha DSP Jatinder Pal Singh said cops led by DSP (D) Sandeep Wadhera had been trying to resolve the issue. “The police are trying to persuade protestors to lift the dharna by persuading either the parties to settle the issue amicably,” said Jatinder Pal Singh, adding that further action would be taken after verifying the allegations made by the parties against each other.

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