Cong workers block road over denial of candidature

Congress workers protested for the second consecutive day against the rejection of nomination papers of Sukhwinder Singh from Attari village, the party candidate for the block samiti poll.

The Congress workers blocked the railway overbridge which connects the city with the cantonment area, leading to inconvenience for commuters.

The dharna was lifted after three hours following assurance given by officials to look into the matter.

Congress MP Sher Singh Ghubaya, along with former MLA Parminder Singh Pinki, accused AAP leaders of pressuring officials, leading to what they called an “unjust and politically motivated decision”.

Ghubaya said the AAP government, which came to power four years ago on the promise of change, had pushed the state deep into debt and was now misleading the public by holding inaugurations of even transformers and laying unnecessary foundation stones.

He added that if AAP leaders truly believed that they ushered in an era of development, they should facilitate free and fair elections without getting anyone’s nomination cancelled.

Sukhwinder Singh, who had filed his nomination from the Attari block samiti zone, said he was informed by the BDPO office that his nomination had been rejected on the grounds that his house was allegedly built on panchayat land. He said this accusation was unfounded as neither he nor his family had ever received any notice or objection from the BDPO office in the past.

He also pointed out that his wife had earlier served as a block samiti member from the same zone without any such issue being raised.