Govt machinery ran full throttle

Ruchika M Khanna and Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 23

The entire government machinery seemed to have been deployed for SAD’s “Sadbhavna Rally” held at Bathinda today.

The Transport Department made sure that enough buses were requisitioned to ferry people to the rally venue, while the Water Supply and Sewerage Department was roped in to provide public utilities for the hundreds of thousands of people who reached there.

Schools located in the vicinity of the rally ground — Delhi Public School, SSD Krishna Vatika and Police Public School — were shut down, reportedly to use the school grounds for parking vehicles that ferried people to the rally ground.

Supporters of Sikh activists, who had threatened to disrupt the mobilisation of people for the rally, were placed under preventive arrest by the police throughout the state.

Congress leaders have decried the alleged blatant misuse of official machinery by the ruling party to make the party event a success — a charge vehemently denied by the Akali Dal.

Talking to The Tribune, Leader of Opposition Sunil Jakhar said the rally was a “sarkari” show. “Rather than discussing critical issues confronting the state, the Akalis discussed only Amarinder Singh. By using the police and the Transport Department, the government is trying to claim success,” he said.

However, the Akali Dal has denied that the crowds were mobilised by using government machinery.

Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal mocked at these allegations, saying the government machinery cannot be used to force people to get into buses and come for the rally. 

“The buses deployed for the rally were paid for by the party. People came from villagers on their own. There was no government directive to close down schools. If these were closed down, it must have been a decision of the school managements,” he said.

Sources in the transport sector claimed they had initially decided not to rent out their buses for the rally because of the alleged anti-private transporters policy of the government. “On Sunday, however, district transport officials met some transporters in Bathinda, Mansa and Barnala and assured them that their demands of reducing the motor vehicle tax by Rs 0.30 (from Rs 3.03 per km, as of now) and increasing the number of days for which rebate would be given would be met. Following that assurance, the transporters rented out their buses,” said a senior office-bearer of the Punjab Motor Union. 

In case, these demands were not complied with, they would not lease out buses for the next Sadbhavna Rally at Moga, they said.

Reports coming from across the state indicated that a number of supporters of Sikh activists were detained by the police at various places.  People were detained at Singh Bhagwantpur police station in Ropar and  were released only around 7 pm. Surinder Singh Krishanpura, Ranjit Singh Rana, Surinder Singh Chinda, who were detained in Ropar, said 25 others were also rounded up in Ropar.

In Bathinda, members of the Insaf Di Aawaz Organisation, which has been opposing the Pearls Group for allegedly duping investors, were also rounded up by the police. The land where the rally was held today reportedly belonged to the Pearls Group.  Lalit Sharma, an office-bearer of the organisation said they were detained so that they could not protest near the rally venue.

Cong: Blatant misuse of official machinery 

There was blatant misuse of official machinery by the ruling party to make the party event a success… The rally was a ‘sarkari’ show. Rather than discussing critical issues confronting the state, the Akalis discussed only Amarinder Sing. —Sunil Jakhar, leader of opposition

Sukhbir: People came voluntarily 

The government machinery cannot be used to force people to get into buses and come for the rally. The buses deployed for the rally were paid for by the party. People came from villagers of their own. There was no government directive to close down schools. —Sukhbir Singh Badal, deputy chief minister