SAD Dharna: Congress demands dismissal of Punjab government

FAZILKA: Coming down heavily on Shiromani Akali Dal's (SAD) dharna against drug menace in Punjab near Indo-Pak border, Congress leaders and activists demanded dismissal of the state government for allegedly inciting people against security forces. The dharna was held in Fazilka and Ferozepur.
While ridiculing Akali leaders Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and Prem Singh Chandumajra for holding a dharna near the border, Congress MLA Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi said such champions of dharnas never had courage to raise the issue in the parliament.
"Why did they shy away on this issue is a mystery, Now, they should reveal it to the people," said Sodhi, adding that the matter was first raised by the Congress, which the Akali Dal is now trying to hijack.
Meanwhile, pitching for greater vigilance along the Pakistan border to stop the flow of narcotics into the state and calling upon the people to create a drug-free Punjab, SAD organized a dharna near the international border on Monday.
At Ferozepur, the dharna was attended by MPs Dhindsa and Chandumajra and Punjab cabinet ministers Janmeja Singh Shekhon and Tota Singh. MPs Balwinder Singh Bhunder and Sher Singh Ghubaya along with state minister Sikander Singh Maluka took part in the dharna in Fazilka.
SAD leaders pitched for joint efforts by the union and state government to tackle the drug menace by sealing borders with Pakistan. While addressing the gathering, Janmeja said: "Punjabis have contributed greatly towards the nation's security while the Congress first declared them as separatists and now as drug addicts. Our dharna is not against Border Security Forces (BSF) or the paramilitary forces but against nefarious designs of the Congress to defame the state."