Shahkot By-Poll: Sukhbir Badal urges EC to order arrest of Laddi
Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal urged the Election Commission to order arrest of Congress's Shahkot bypoll candidate Hardev Singh Laddi who has been booked in an illegal mining case.
On May 4, Laddi and two others were booked by police for alleged illegal sand mining in different villages of Jalandhar district.
Addressing a rally in Shahkot as party candidate Naib Singh Kohar filed his nomination papers for the by-poll, Badal alleged that money had exchanged hands in the award of the party ticket to Laddi.
“There can be no other reason for the stoic silence of the Congress high command on this issue," Badal said.
The SAD president also urged the Election Commission to ensure due protection to Mehatpur SHO, who had registered the FIR against the Congress candidate.
He claimed the SHO had earlier been awarded the DGP's commendation disc.
“How can an officer who has been given the highest serving award in the Punjab Police a few months back now be held to be mentally unstable just because he has registered an FIR against the Congress candidate,” Badal said.
BJP state president Shwait Malik on the occasion said governance was totally "paralysed" in Punjab due to which various "mafia" formed by Congress leaders had taken over the state.
He exhorted people to teach a befitting lesson to the Congress party in the forthcoming by-poll.
