Navjot Sidhu, 5 other Punjab Congress MLAs detained during protest against Lakhimpur Kheri incident

Terming the death of protesting farmers as “murder”, Punjab Congress president Navjot Sidhu demanded arrest of Union minister Ajay Kumar Mishra’s son for allegedly running a car over agitators

Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu along with at least five party MLAs and other leaders was detained outside the Punjab Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh on Monday during a protest against the death of four farmers in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri district a day before.

Punjab Congress president Navjot Sidhu along with party MLAs and workers being detained by police during a protest against the Lakhimpur Kheri incident outside the Punjab Raj Bhawan in Chandigarh on Monday.

Also among those detained were party MLAs Madan Lal Jalalpur, Hardiyal Kamboj, Pirmal Singh Khalsa, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Rajinder Singh and state Youth Congress chief Brinder Dhillon.

Terming the death of protesting farmers as “murder”, Sidhu demanded the arrest of Union minister of state Ajay Kumar Mishra’s son for allegedly running a car over the agitators.

He also condemned the statement of Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar asking the BJP cadre for “tit-for-tat action” against the farmers in the neighbouring state.

The protesters also raised slogans against the treatment meted out to Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was detained on her way to meet the families of the deceased farmers.

Nearly 30 Congress leaders were removed from the protest site and were taken in a bus to the Sarangpur police station. Later, they were released. “We removed the Congress leaders from the Raj Bhawan but no case was registered,” said superintendent of police (city) Ketan Bansal.

“The Congress leaders reached held protest without any prior intimation,” said another police official.