Sachin Pilot, Warring, Channi join hands at Punjab Congress protest over Gulzar Singh’s death

The Punjab Congress protest march to the residence of Finance Minister Harpal Cheema here over the suicide of Gulzar Singh brought together the faction-ridden Punjab Congress, with PPCC chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, former chief minister Charanjit Channi and Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Randhawa joining the stage in the presence of AICC general secretary Punjab Affairs Sachin Pilot.

On his maiden visit to Punjab, Pilot was greeted by an impressive show of strength put up by leaders from different factions. Pilot also made Channi and Warring join hands on the stage in a public display of unity.

The march, led by Pilot, was stopped midway as the Chandigarh Police took Pilot, Warring and Leader of Opposition Partap Bajwa into preventive custody. Channi and other leaders in his group participated in the march but did not join Warring at the police station.

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Addressing the gathering, Pilot demanded an independent probe into Gulzar’s death and the inclusion of Cheema’s name in the FIR.

Lashing out at the AAP government over Singh’s alleged suicide, he said the issue of drug menace had reached its peak.

“We have no personal enmity with Cheema sahib. But you are sitting in office, you are the finance minister. A man is taking his life and making a video saying ‘I am taking my life because of this person’. Does the law not say that there should be an investigation, there should be an FIR?” Pilot said.

He claimed that the AAP had not kept any of its poll promises and had worked to push Punjab into the “darkness of drugs”.  “Today, ‘chitta’ (synthetic drugs) is being delivered home. You make a phone call and it is reaching homes,” Pilot alleged.