Cong's Amarinder provoking people to physically harm Akalis: SAD

Chandigarh: The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Friday condemned Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh's remarks against its leadership, saying these amounted to provoking the people to physically harm the Akalis.

Amarinder, while joining the Congress protest in front of the residence of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal here, warned the Badals, "Today, people are only burning your effigies. Tomorrow, they will be after your life."

It shows the "extreme frustration" of Amarinder and his dangerous moves and evil designs to capture power in the state, the SAD said.

SAD secretary and spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said no one imagined that the Congress chief would think so low about their political rivals.

"This is a criminal act which cannot be approved by any right thinking individual in the state and the country," he said.

Cheema said that the Congress party is trying to create disorder in the state by physically attacking the political opponents as well as attacking and insulting the law enforcing agencies in order to demoralise the state force.

He said that the chief minister has given a patient hearing to the agitating Congress workers and ordered an inquiry into the Ludhiana clash between Congress and Akali workers. It was now up to the Congress party to have waited patiently.

Since the motto of the Congress is to create disturbance in the state, they (Congress MLAs and leaders) have chosen a path of unwarranted confrontation and even threatening the senior SAD leadership, he said.

Congress workers had reportedly prepared white Ravana effigies in protest against the sale of heroin (chitta) in Punjab. They had planned to burn them on

Dussehra, along with photos of the chief minister and his son (Deputy Chief Minister) Sukhbir Singh Badal, which led to a clash between them and Akali Dal supporters in Ludhiana that left at least 35 people injured.