Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday demanded immediate action against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Jagraon legislator Sarvjit Kaur Manuke after an NRI based in Canada accused the legislator’s aides of occupying her house illegally.
In a statement, the SAD president said “Instead of taking prompt action in the complaint and registering a case against the legislator and evicting the illegal occupants, the Punjab Police is sleeping over the matter. This has sent a wrong signal to the NRI community that their lands and properties are not safe in Punjab, especially if the aggressors are from the ruling elite”. Asking both the Punjab Police Director General of the Police and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to explain the inordinate delay in taking action in the case, Sukhbir Badal said “The NRI Amarjit Kaur has knocked the doors of the DGP as well as the NRI minister but has not got any relief till now. This shocking state of affairs proves the AAP government is least concerned about the welfare of NRIs”.
Explaining the issue, Badal said it was shocking that “goons” associated with the Jagraon MLA had not only illegally occupied the residence of NRI Amarjit Kaur in Jagraon but were simultaneously renovating the house and disposing of the belongings of Kaur and her family at their will. “As complaints on e-mail fall on deaf ears with the Punjab Police not acting against the goons, the NRI has been forced to come to Jagraon despite ill health and submit a complaint to the Ludhiana Rural Police,” Badal claimed.
Asking the State DGP to act immediately on the matter, the leader said “An example must be set that the properties of NRIs are safe in Punjab. An FIR should be registered against the MLA and the goons occupying the house and the law must be put into effect to ensure their eviction and handing over of the house to the rightful owner”.