Ludhiana/Chandigarh: Police on Wednesday used water cannons and fired tear gas shells to stop MGNREGA employees and workers from marching towards Punjab panchayats minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond’s residence in Khanna after protesters allegedly attempted to breach barricades.Khanna SSP Darpan Ahluwalia said protesters were not subjected to a lathicharge but were stopped after trying to enter the minister’s residential society by jumping barricades. She said one DSP and two other police personnel were injured in the incident, while one protester suffered a leg injury.According to sources, MGNREGA employees and workers from across Punjab had assembled in Khanna to demand regularisation of services, release of salaries pending for several months and acceptance of other long-pending demands. After a rally at Prem Bhandari Park, they marched towards the minister’s residence.Protesters, however, alleged that police used force despite the demonstration being peaceful. They claimed several workers were injured in the action, including one whose leg was allegedly fractured, and accused the police of using tear gas and carrying out a lathicharge. Union leaders warned of intensifying the agitation if the govt failed to release pending salaries and address their demands.The police action drew sharp criticism from the Punjab Congress. Punjab leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa termed the police action “deeply disturbing”, saying the workers were demanding wages they had already earned. “These are not lawbreakers; they are workers demanding wages they have already earned. Responding to their legitimate grievances with force reflects a complete failure of governance and compassion,” he said, urging the govt to clear all pending dues and engage with the protesters through dialogue. “In a democracy, peaceful protest deserves respect, not repression,” he added.Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring described the police action as “brutal barbarity”, alleging that the workers were chanting ‘Satnam Waheguru’ when police used water cannons, tear gas and lathis. “Bhagwant Mann has turned Punjab into a police state,” Warring alleged, demanding suspension of the police and civil administration officials involved.Former deputy chief minister and Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said the workers had not been paid for the past eight months and were peacefully protesting outside minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond’s residence. “Treating poor workers, who were merely asking for the wages they earned through their hard work, like criminals is extremely unfortunate,” he said, demanding immediate release of the dues, a judicial inquiry into the incident and action against officials responsible for the use of force. .
