COURTESY HT FEB 9

Punjab BJP chief cancels SBS Nagar visit; Sampla gheraoed in Moga

Ashwani Sharma
HT Correspondents

letterschd@hindustantimes.com

Ludhiana/MOGA : Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Punjab unit president of the party Ashwani Sharma on Monday cancelled a review meeting with party candidates in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district due to the farmers’ protest there.

A large number of farmers broke three barricades on the way to BJP meeting spot in the city and blocked all roads leading to the venue. BJP district chief Poonam Manik said, “Police was soft on protesters and allowed them to block roads to the meeting venue. We informed the state president of this, so he decided not to come.”

Sharma held a state-level meeting with party workers, in Ludhiana, in a secretive manner. District in-charges and district presidents were part of the meeting, which was called to discuss the February 14 civic polls. The meeting was organised at a community hall to the rear of a shopping mall on the Ferozepur Road. The media was not informed. BJP workers who were part of the meeting were instructed not to share the schedule.

State BJP co-incharge Dr Narinder Singh, state general secretary Jeevan Gupta; former BJP president Rajinder Bhandari and Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina were also present. “The Congress is facing defeat in MC polls, and is, thus, targeting BJP leaders,” Sharma said in a communique.

In Moga, activists of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Ugrahan) gheraoed senior BJP leader and former Union minister Vijay Sampla on Monday when he arrived in the city to campaign for the party candidates for the municipal corporation elections. Local BJP leaders and candidates left the spot, leaving Sampla and party’s district president Vinay Sharma behind, as soon as the BKU activists arrived to protest outside the gate of the Moga Improvement Trust market against the Centre’s farm laws. The protesters managed to gherao him even as heavy police force was deployed there.

Sampla arrived around noon and was meeting local BJP leaders and party candidates at the office of a party worker.

“The protesters were not farmers. They were Congress and Left goons. The elections are taking place when candidates are not being allowed to contest elections. This is all happening because of the ruling Congress in the state,” said the former minister who cancelled his other programmes in the city