Badal government curbing right to protest: Congress

The opposition Congress in Punjab Saturday slammed the Badal government for allegedly curbing the democratic right of the people to protest.

Punjab Congress President Partap Singh Bajwa, in a statement, condemned the "repression let loose by the state government on the agitating government employees".

"The Parkash Singh Badal government has no right to curb the democratic rights of the people to protest peacefully for the acceptance of their demands. Ever since this government has taken over, such protests have been ruthlessly curbed by the use of brute force. The only answer with the government to the demands of various sections of society are the police lathis. The voice of the people cannot be crushed like this," Bajwa said.

Bajwa pointed out recent incidents of police cane-charge on agitating roadways employees, multi-purpose health workers (female) and arrest of teachers recruited under various schemes.

He said that agitating employees were being cane-charged almost every day in Bathinda, the protest capital of Punjab.

"What was all the more shocking was that even women were not being spared. The irony was that this Lok Sabha constituency is represented by Harsimrat Kaur Badal, who had projected herself as the champion of women issues. However, she has always kept mum despite the police subjecting women to such inhuman treatment," Bajwa said.