BATHINDA – Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal called off a program in Goniana Mandi due to protest over rising crime in the area.
She was forced to take a bumpy 3-km detour to another function as protesting farmers blocked the way from where her cavalcade was scheduled to pass.
The protest in Goniana Mandi was headed by SAD leader Ramesh Mattu, whose wife is a councillor. He accused the police of hand in glove with the criminals.
“Even if I am a SAD worker, I will always stand with the public against injustice,” Mattu said while addressing the protesters. “Criminals have an upper hand these days and the police have completely failed to bring any respite from the rising snatching incidents in the area,” he alleged.
The Bathinda MP called off her programme in Goniana Mandi, but decided to lay the foundation stone of the cattle pond at Har-Raipur village.
Sukhpal Singh, a labour union leader, said: “We did not allow her cavalcade to take the road decorated with flags and forced her to travel extra 3 km through a potholed road to reach Har-Raipur village.
He said: “We have demanded Rs40,000 per acre compensation to farmers who have lost their cotton produce.”
Bathinda (rural) MLA Darshan Singh Kotfatta reached the school where the MP was scheduled to distribute bicycles. The public raised slogans against the MLA.
