Congress candidate Hardev Singh Laddi Sherowalia during a ‘nukkar’ meeting at Sandhawala village in Shahkot Saturday. (Express photo)
A DAY after he was booked in an illegal mining case, the Congress candidate in the upcoming Shahkot bypoll, Hardev Singh Laddi Sherowalia, held ‘nukkar’ meetings in over a dozen villages in the Shahkot Assembly segment, mostly in the villages located alongside the Sutlej River.
He raised the FIR issue in each meeting, alleging that opponents had stooped so low that they got an FIR lodged against him without any investigation. “Did I kill anyone? Or I was caught red-handed doing anything wrong that an FIR was lodged against me, that too around 4:30 am,” he said while interacting with people at Sandhawala village.
“Why was the officer in such a hurry that he did not even wait for the investigation report called from various departments by the Election Commissioner?” he questioned.
“If I am wrong, hang me,” he told people. He also said that your presence (people) in my meetings is proof that you people also understand that what is happening is not the truth.
“A detailed investigation must be conducted in all the allegations levelled against me in the FIR and it will bring the things out in black and white,” said in Thamuwal village.
Apart from these two villages, he also held nukkar meetings in Salahpur, Lengewal, Bhoepur, Thamanwala, Dharmiwala, Sohal Jagir Tut Sher Singh villages. In village Bhoepur around 15 families joined the Congress.
Meanwhile, the Returning Officer (RO) for the Shahkot bypoll, Jagjit Singh, issued showcause notice to the Akali leaders who staged protest march in Shahkot and burnt the effigy of Sherowalia Friday as it was a violation of poll code.