E-Paper
Lockdown in Ludhiana: BJP, SAD leaders highlight ‘bias’ in ration distribution
While BJP leader Satpal Gosain initiated a three-day, relay hunger strike at his house in Kidwai Nagar, SAD councillor Gurmail Singh Jajji sat on a protest near the Bhagat Singh statue on Bahadurke Road.
Accusing the administration and local Congress of uneven distribution of ration among migrant workers, former cabinet minister and BJP leader Satpal Gosain and local Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) councillor Gurmail Singh Jajji held separate protests in their respective areas on Friday.
While Gosain initiated a three-day, relay hunger strike at his house in Kidwai Nagar, Jajji sat on a protest near the Bhagat Singh statue installed on Bahadurke Road. Jajji said he will continue the protest for three days, and if the administration failed to solve the matter, he will proceed on hunger strike outside the deputy commissioner’s office on Monday.
Gosain said a large number of migrant labourers and underprivileged people had gathered outside his house 10 days back, following which he contacted deputy commissioner (DC) Pradeep Agrawal and municipal corporation (MC) commissioner Kanwalpreet Kaur Brar to distribute ration among the needy.
MC secretary Surinderpal showed up a few days later and demanded a list of beneficiaries. Gosain said though they handed over two lists of over 450 families three days ago, ration has not been distributed among the needy.
Jaggi accused the district administration and Congress party of adopting pick-and-choose policy in distributing ration.
He alleged that while the state government was supplying ration for the poor, the administration, in connivance with local Congress leadership, was giving it to a leader of the party. This Congress leader, he alleged, was providing the supplies only to the families supporting him, while a considerable fraction of migrant workers and their families were left fighting hunger. The workers had been gathering outside his house for food, which forced him to hold a protest in their support, he said.
Jajji further alleged that the MC had provided supplies only once, and they were also sanitising the ward on their own with little to no support from the civic body.
BJP LEADERS MEET DC
Five BJP leaders, including former deputy mayor RD Sharma, former councillors Inder Aggarwal and Amrik Bhola, Deepak Sharma and Rohit Sikka, also met the DC over improper distribution of ration among the underprivileged.
Sharma alleged that the administration was distributing ration through Congress leaders, including MLAs and ward-level leaders, only to the party supporters. However, workers, whose list was provided by BJP leaders, had been left out.
Aggarwal urged the DC to ensure the administration supplied ration to all people on the lists provided by respective councillors.
On his part, DC Pradeep Agrawal said sector officers deputed by the administration were distributing the ration. “The concerns raised by BJP leaders will be addressed and the administration will ensure that the supply reaches every needy person in the district,” he added.
Mayor Balkar Sandhu said the civic body had distributed ration once, and now the DC’s office was handling the distribution. He said anyone in need of food can contact the administration via its helpline numbers.
