Sukhbir, Akali leaders detained

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal and others were detained by the police here on Wednesday morning, foiling their plan to stage a march towards the Vigilance Bureau office against the arrest of party leader Bikram Singh Majithia in a corruption case.

They were let off around an hour later even as Majithia was appearing in a Mohali court after his seven-day Vigilance remand ended today.

The police cited law and order concerns as reason for the detentions, drawing a sharp reaction from Sukhbir, who later accused Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of “imposing an undeclared Emergency” in the state.

The leaders detained along with Sukhbir included Sikander Singh Maluka and Parambans Singh Bunty Romana.

The SAD leaders were scheduled to first pay obeisance at Amb Sahib Gurdwara in Phase 8, from where they were scheduled to march towards the agency office. SAD workers started gathering at the shrine in the morning.

As soon as the SAD leader’s cavalcade was stopped on the Chandigarh-Mohali border ahead of Majithia’s scheduled hearing, Sukhbir had a mild verbal spat with the police.

When the cops told Sukhbir they had been ordered to maintain law and order, he retorted, “On whose orders — Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann or Arvind Kejriwal?”

Sukhbir said he was going to the Amb Sahib gurdwara to pay obeisance only.

‘Undeclared Emergency’

Mohali SP (Rural) Manpreet Singh escorted him and other SAD workers to a Phase 11 police station in a bus amidst sloganeering by SAD workers.

After being released from the custody, Sukhbirlaunched a scathing attack CM Mann through a social media post.

“Bhagwant Mann has imposed an undeclared Emergency in Punjab. Akali workers proceeding to Mohali today for expressing solidarity with Bikram Singh Majithia, who has been framed in a false case by the AAP government, are being detained at their houses and even being stopped at ‘nakas’,” he alleged in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

“Such repressive acts smack of cowardice. It is clear that Chief Minister @BhagwantMann is rattled by the outpouring of support for Bikram Majithia,” he claimed.

Punjab