Congress leaders lock Ludhiana MC Zone A office in protest

Tribune News Service

Manav Mander

Ludhiana, February 27

High drama was witnessed outside the Zone A office of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation today when Congress leaders and workers held a protest outside and later stormed into the office and tried to lock its gate.

Ravneet Bittu along with the entire Congress leadership and a large number of party workers reached the Ludhiana MC Zone A office where the police had already done barricading. They clashed with the police and jumped barricades to reach the gate of the MC office. The party workers also threw bangles at the police.

Senior Congress leaders, including Ravneet Bittu, Rakesh Pandey, Sanjay Talwar, Surinder Dawar and Bharat Bhushan Ashu, were present, who tried to lock the Zone A office.

On the other hand as soon as the gate was locked by the Congress leaders, MC staff from inside the office cut the chain and lock with a cutter machine. Bittu said the ruling state government was trying to cut the hands of the Congress leaders. “It was on the directions of AAP MLAs that the MC staff were making use of the cutter machine. The opposition has the right to protest if things are not going well but this is the first time that such thing has happened against the protest,” he said.

Bittu said a finger of Sanjay Talwar was injured with the cutter machine and they would take action against it. They were protesting ahead of the Lok Sabha elections as they wanted the public to know the real face of AAP and in coming days, more offices that have failed to serve the public would be locked.

“The MC has become a den of corruption in the past two years. Virtually, no developmental work has started in the past two years. If the purpose of the corporation is not fulfilled, we should lock it,” he said.

Addressing the gathering in front of the Zone A office, the MP said it had been almost one year, the AAP government had failed to get the local bodies elections done. They were basically depriving residents from electing their councillors and geting their developmental works done in wards.

The situation in the city, which is the industrial hub of the state, is worst. The MC has not undertaken a single developmental project in the city in the past two years, 95 wards are crying for cleanliness. There is litter all around and the corporation has failed in garbage collection, which is directly affecting residents. There is no sewerage works and no maintenance of street lights is being done in any ward.

MLA Gurpreet Gogi said if the Congress had to carry out a protest, it should have been done in a peaceful manner. “Locking a government office is against the law. I will ask the Municipal Commissioner and the Commissioner of Police to probe the matter and take action against the guilty. What MC employees have done is must be according to rules, as nobody can lock a government office,” he said.

More offices will be locked in days to come, says Bittu

Cong leader Ravneet Bittu said they locked the MC office ahead of the Lok Sabha elections as they wanted the public to know the real face of AAP and in coming days, more offices which have failed to serve the public will be locked.

Locking a government office against law: MLA Gogi

MLA Gurpreet Gogi said if the Congress had to carry out a protest, it should have been done in a peaceful manner. “Locking a government office is against the law. I will ask the MC chief and CP to probe and take action in the matter,” he said.

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