The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today alleged that the Congress government in Punjab had given a green signal to its cadre to "strike at the Akali workers at will", resulting in a law-and-order breakdown in the state.
Alleging that two Akali workers were killed by Congress activists at Rukan Shah Wala village in Ferozepur district yesterday, SAD MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said such incidents were on the rise in Punjab.
He claimed that in spite of the victims' family members accusing Jasmail Singh Laddi Gehri, the husband of Ferozepur Rural MLA Satkar Kaur, of engineering the killings, the police had not lodged a case against him.
"This is persistent in all cases of repression against Akali workers. The police never take action against the Congress politicians accused of engineering them," said the SAD secretary general.
He alleged that those behind the killing of the two SAD workers in Ferozepur wanted to take over the reins of the village panchayat there.
"This kind of a mayhem can go on only with the help of political patronage. It is condemnable that the state police is acting as the B team of the Congress.
"Police officers are failing to ensure justice for the victims of this Congress repression due to which, such cases are on the rise," said Dhindsa.
The Akali leader also claimed that the "total breakdown of the law-and-order situation" in the state had boosted the morale of the gangsters, who were openly indulging in shootouts and robberies.
Urging the Amarinder Singh-led government to pay attention to maintaining law-and-order, he reminded it that Punjab was a border state and any laxity on this front could have "serious consequences".
Dhindsa also said the Congress government in Punjab should snub those leaders who were encouraging its cadre to repress the Akalis through "inflammatory speeches".
"If you do not do this, it will be clear that you are loyal only to your own leaders and not to the people of Punjab," he said while asking the Akali cadre to counter the cases of repression strongly, but in a democratic manner.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)