Cong MLA threatens to raze foundation stones in Jalandhar

A day after Jalandhar North Congress MLA Bawa Henry had threatened to demolish the foundation stones laid in the city, Aam Aadmi Party leaders remained wary of the situation. They even got the police deployed to check any such action.

Congress leaders had been sore over incorporating the names of AAP's ward-wise candidates, who had lost MC polls, in the foundation stones while ignoring the sitting councillors of the Congress. During the protest of the Congress outside MC office yesterday, Henry said the first stone would be razed in the Reru locality on Thursday morning.

This was the same site in Ward no. 2 where the name of Congress councillor Harpreet Walia had been missing in the plaque for the inauguration of work to lay sewage pipelines.

AAP ward in-charge Vijay Bhatia's name, however, had been put up. The Congress had been terming it unjustified and unconstitutional.

Before 11 am today, AAP leader Amit Dhall reached the site along with AAP workers. They called the police as a precautionary move to avoid any confrontation. They remained at the site for two hours but Henry did not turn up. He reportedly went to Chandigarh today for some work.

The insiders in the Congress said Henry did not go to the site to avoid any direct fight. To challenge him, Dhall, who had lost election against him from Jalandhar North, released a video this morning, saying, "If Henry will pull down one stone, we shall demolish 10 inaugural plaques in the city that were put up in the Congress regime. You too have been doing the same in the city from 2017-22". Dhall has been a former Congress councillor.

Dhall lashed out in the video, "Even now the Congress is out of power, it is indulging in nasty politics with us. A foundation stone has been laid regarding starting of work with the MPLAD fund in Shiv Nagar-Nagra area in Ward no 83. We have AAP councillor there but the Congress MP has not got his name added to the plaque. Is it not wrong?"

Meanwhile, some Congress councillors are planning to get their parallel foundation stones laid in wards adjoining those put up by the AAP for a tit-for-tat reaction.