Cong men hold sit-in at Malaud BDPO office

Office-bearers and activists of various wings of the Congress in Malaud block of Ludhiana district threatened to intensify the stir if their demands were not accepted without further delay. An ultimatum was given during the concluding session of a protest rally held in front of the office of the Block Development and Panchayat Officer, Malaud, near here on Monday.

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SDO Balwinder Singh after receiving the memorandum on behalf of BDPO Rajwinder Singh said necessary action would be taken to start functioning of panchayats at all villages irrespective of political allegiances of the office-bearers of the civic bodies.

Former MLA Payal Lakhvir Singh Lakha said office-bearers and activists of various units of the Congress in Malaud block had organised a sit-in and rally with intent to impress upon the authorities at the BDPO office to stop discrimination against the Congress-supported sarpanches and panches. Block president Gurmel Singh Gill, Ber Kalan, led the activists.

Accusing the AAP government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of coercing leaders of rival parties to join the AAP, legislator Lakhvir Singh Lakha alleged that none of the Congress-supported sarpanches had been handed over charge of the panchayat with ‘sinister’ design to force him or her to shift loyalties.

“Having failed to get their demands accepted, sarpanches and panches organised a dharna in front of block office and handed over a memorandum to BDPO through SDO Balwinder Singh,” said Lakha, adding that a subdivision-level dharna would be organised in front of SDM Payal’s office in case of harassment of Congress activists was not stopped with immediate effect.