Road construction: Baliawal accuses MLA Dhillon of extorting money from public

Says the minister and SAD workers collected lakhs of rupees from the industrialists and residents in the name of road construction

All India Congress committee national coordinator Pritpal Singh Baliawal met Vidhan Sabha speaker Rana KP Singh on Monday evening and demanded action against Sahnewal MLA and former cabinet minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon for allegedly getting a portion of Rahon road constructed by ‘extorting’ money from public.

HT Image

Baliawal accused the former minister of “extorting” money from colonisers and industrialists in the name of road construction. He added that the SAD MLA is trying to malign the image of Congress government in public.

Dhillon on the other hand refuted the allegations stating that the residents of the area had come forward for construction of road and he supported them. Dhillon said the residents were bearing the brunt of government apathy as the 2.5-km long stretch on Rahon road has been awaiting repair works for the last over two-and-a-half years.

Asking the speaker to seek the details of the amount collected by the MLA and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) workers in the area, Baliawal demanded that the action should be taken against Dhillon for indulging in an illegal act.

Baliawal alleged the road construction work commenced around two months ago and the work has not been completed. The minister and SAD workers collected lakhs of rupees from the industrialists and residents in the name of road construction. They also collected money from public by installing a tent on the road.

Baliawal said that Dhillon had also made announcement that he will give ₹2 lakh out of his salary, which is illegal as the road cannot be constructed without getting consent from the government or its departments. The government has already sanctioned funds for the road and the tender would be floated soon, said Baliawal.

The speaker has assured that the matter would be forwarded to the disciplinary committee of the Vidhan Sabha for further action, said Baliawal.

Accusing Baliawal of blackmailing him and others, Dhillon said the harassed residents approached him as their business was also hit due to potholed road.

“I supported them and would continue to do the same as the government has failed to provide relief. I had also raised the issue in the Vidhan Sabha but to no avail,” said Dhillon while adding that funds were provided by the industrialists and residents of the area voluntarily as the work was being done for their own benefit.