BJP stages series of protests in show of strength against liquor mafia

Ludhiana: In a big show of strength the district unit of the BJP, Ludhiana, staged a series of protests against the Punjab government, accusing the state government of inaction against the liquor mafia in the case of hooch tragedy, which claimed lives of over 100 persons.
Different teams of the BJP protested in all six constituencies, including north, central, west, east, Atam Nagar and south. The protest saw a huge gathering of the workers at several spots, including Jalandhar bypass, where the BJP workers had even erected a tent for the protest. At one or two spots traffic snarl ups were also witnessed due to the dharna.
Meanwhile, in the evening Ludhiana police registered FIRs against more than 100 office-bearers and workers of the party. Division number 5 police lodged FIR against prominent BJP leaders Kamal Chatly, Pushpinder Singhal, Sunil Moudgil, Davinder Singh Ghumman and several others, while division number 7 registered FIR against BJP’s Naval Jain, Kailash Chaudhary, Gurdeep Singh Sodhi and several others. Another FIR was registered by Salem Tabri police station against Parveen Bansal, Mahesh Dutt Sharma and about 50 others. Sahnewal police station too registered an FIR against 15 BJP workers and leaders. All FIRs have been registered under Sections 188 and 269 of the IPC and several sections of the disaster management act.
Giving more information about the protest, Pushpindar Singhal, district president of BJP, said, “As per instructions of our senior leaders, including state president Ashwani Sharma, a series of protest was organised by the district unit of the BJP in all constituencies of Ludhiana. The main purpose for staging this protest was to wake up the Punjab government, which is virtually sleeping on the issue of the murder of 120 innocent Punjabis by liquor mafia. We were forced to resort to protest in order to get justice for the families of the victims who till now have been ignored by the government. By such inaction of the government it is clear that the Congress is trying to save people who are under its political patronage and have executed this genocide by supplying hooch to the innocent people”
Singhal added that, “Our entire team of leaders and workers came out in large numbers on Monday to raise their voice against the atrocities of this government and to show solidarity with the families of the victims and to let them know that the BJP was standing with them shoulder to shoulder and we will go to any extent to ensure that the guilty are given strictest of punishment. In the north constituency our senior leaders Parveen Bansal and Kartendu Sharma led the protest, in central constituency it was led by Gurdev Sharma Debi and Ashwani Behl. The protest in west constituency was led by Kamal Chatly and Yogender Makol. At all spots it was ensured that proper social distancing and safety norms in the wake of coronavirus are followed and no inconvenience is caused to the public.”
Others present in the protest included Yashpal Janotra, Sunita Sharma, Mahesh Sharma, Rohit Sikka, Deepak Gupta, Rajinder Sharma, Ajay Gupta, Harish Saggar, Dinesh Sarpal, Santosh Kalra, Sunil Mehra, Inder Aggarwal,, Om Parkash Ratra, Yashpal Chaudhary, Rajkumar Atwal, Sukhjeev Bedi, Kailash Chuadhary, Naval Jain among others.