A day after Chandigarh police booked Akali Dal Waris Punjab De leader and Dakha MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali along with 14 others over alleged clashes during the party’s protest march on July 29, the outfit on Friday condemned the FIR, alleging it was an attempt to stifle a peaceful, democratic protest.
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The march had been organised to demand the release of Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh and other Sikh prisoners while also seeking permission for the jailed MP to represent Punjab’s concerns in Parliament.
Amritpal’s father and senior party leader Tarsem Singh termed the FIR a politically motivated move, aimed at weakening the growing movement seeking justice for Sikh prisoners.
He said the demand for their release had been pending for years and recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured the Sikh community during Guru Nanak Dev’s Prakash Purab celebrations that the issue would be addressed.
“At a time when people from across Punjab and different religious communities are uniting to raise their voice against this injustice, baseless criminal cases are being registered to silence them,” Tarsem alleged.
The Akali leader also said CM Bhagwant Mann should have personally received the memorandum submitted by the protesters and clarified the government’s position on the demand for the release of Bandi Singhs. He claimed that Mann had supported the issue before assuming office and should continue to engage with it as CM.
Singh further condemned the restrictions imposed on protesters and objected to the registration of cases against those who participated in the march. He alleged that more than 3,000 protesters had been booked following the demonstration.
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He also questioned the credibility of the police action, claiming that the FIR included the name of late former Punjab minister Ajaib Singh Mukmailpur. According to him, the inclusion of a deceased person exposed factual inaccuracies in the case and reflected a hurried attempt to weaken public support for the movement.
Ayali maintained that the July 29 march remained entirely peaceful and disciplined, with participants adhering to the approved route and traffic regulations throughout the procession. He said volunteers ensured minimal inconvenience to commuters, school vehicles and elderly citizens.
Describing the FIR as an attempt to malign a peaceful protest, Ayali alleged that the government was becoming increasingly intolerant of democratic dissent. He claimed the case was built on a false narrative and intended to discourage people from participating in what he described as a lawful movement for justice and the protection of Punjab’s rights.
SAD (Punar-Surjit) condemns FIR against protesters
Shiromani Akali Dal (Punar-Surjit) president Giani Harpreet Singh on Friday criticised the registration of an FIR against members of the Waris Punjab De organisation following their march towards the Punjab chief minister’s residence, alleging that the action curtailed citizens’ democratic right to peaceful protest.
In a statement, Singh questioned why protesters from Punjab were prevented from entering Chandigarh to submit a memorandum to the CM, describing Chandigarh as the joint capital of the state. He said the Constitution guarantees citizens the right to hold peaceful demonstrations and present their grievances before the government, and asked why such protests were being restricted.
Referring to the FIR registered against the protesters, Singh alleged that criminal cases should not be used to deal with peaceful demonstrations. “In a democracy, issues should be resolved through dialogue rather than through police action,” he said.
