Detaining families of farmers who committed suicide is murder of democracy: Badal

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) patron Parkash Singh Badal said here on Friday that detaining family members of farmers who have committed suicide amounts to murder of democracy.

He went to Sector 3 police station in solidarity with those detained. They were allegedly beaten and forcibly removed from the residence of Finance Minister Manpreet Badal on Friday morning.

"Such an incident has never happened in the history of the State. It is the murder of democracy", he said.

Badal said that the entire farm suicide victim families wanted was a personal audience with the finance minister so that they could request him to include the Congress government's commitment to give a government job to one member from each family as well as compensation of Rs 10 lakh in the State budget.

"The finance minister could have come out and taken their representation. Instead of doing so, he let loose the police force on them," he added.

Condemning the manner in which the Chandigarh police misbehaved with the victim families which included handicapped persons, women, and young children as well as SAD legislators who had accompanied them, Badal said that the action was "unprecedented and against all principles of democracy." He also condemned the roughing up, physical altercation and misbehavior with SAD legislators.