The Congress on Tuesday stepped up its attack on the Punjab government over the suicide of Sangrur labourer Gulzar Singh, marching towards state Finance Minister Harpal Cheema’s house from the Punjab Congress Bhawan in Chandigarh.
The Congress on Tuesday stepped up its attack on the Punjab government over the suicide of Sangrur labourer Gulzar Singh, marching towards state Finance Minister Harpal Cheema’s house.
The march, led by newly-appointed Punjab Congress in-charge and former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, was stopped by Chandigarh Police with barricades. As some Congress workers climbed over the barricades, police deployed water cannons, triggering a confrontation with protesters. Pilot also invoked Gulzar’s death, saying the Dalit man died while naming the minister.
He declared that he would lead the Congress’ fight in Punjab and said he would be the first to face police action. The protest also witnsessed a significant political development in the Punjab Congress, with former Chief Minister and Jalandhar MP Charanjit Singh Channi and Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring sharing the same stage after nearly Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said the Congress would fight without projecting a chief ministerial face, in a significant statement on the party’s strategy for the next Punjab Assembly election. He said the Congress would seek votes in the names of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Sachin Pilo.
