SUKHBIR BADAL GOT DETAINED DURING PROTEST
Chandigarh, June 15, 2021: On Tuesday Punjab Police detained Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal during a protest against the Congress-led state government outside the chief minister’s residence in Siswan.
“If a storm rises, Captain [Amarinder Singh] will not be able to stop it, even if he uses all his force,” the Akali Dal president said before his arrest told reporters before being detained. “There is a scam in vaccination, there is a scam in ‘Fateh Kit [a COVID-19 kit]’, there is a scam in SC scholarship, farmers’ land is being acquired.”
According to the sources, Badal and his party members were protesting to demand the removal of health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu and demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged irregularities in the sale of vaccines and procurement of medical kits for COVID-19 patients.
The police also used water cannons to disperse SAD and BSP leaders and workers when they were forcing their way to ‘gherao’ the chief minister’s residence.
This was the first joint protest of the SAD and BSP, days after both the parties had stitched an alliance for the 2022 Punjab Assembly polls.
On 4 June, after facing flak from the Opposition for “diverting” COVID-19 vaccines to private hospitals, the Congress-ruled Punjab government asked private hospitals to return all stock meant for the 18-44 age group. The turnabout came after opposition parties – Shiromani Akali Dal, Aam Aadmi Party, and Bharatiya Janata Party – slammed the Congress government for “selling” to private hospitals doses meant to be administered free.
Badal had alleged that the Amarinder Singh government procured Covaxin at Rs 400 per dose, but sold it to private hospitals for Rs 1,060, which in turn charged people Rs 1,560 for each shot.
As per the sources, the protests held on Tuesday were also to demand demanded that land acquisition for national highways be done at market rates and displacement compensation be offered to the affected landowners.
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