Chandigarh – Senior AAP leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira was on Sunday stopped by the police from reaching a a spot close to a sugar factory of Congress leader Rana Gurjit, with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh accusing him of trying “trespass” into the factory in Batala. According to some reports, residents of Buttar Sivian village were angry with a nearby sugar mill for allegedly discharging nauseating blackish waste into a drain close by. The mill, however, has denied the allegation.Khaira said that he wanted to inspect the drain, but was stopped along the way. Incident came close on the heels of a large number of fish found dead in the Beas on May 17 after molasses from another sugar factory leaked into the river in Punjab’s Beas town, about 40 km from Amritsar. Khaira, who had vociferously raised the issue of spillage of molasses into the Beas River, on Sunday claimed that the police were under political pressure and had not allowed him to visit the spot in Batala.A police officer told Khaira that they apprehend that his marching to the spot may affect peace in the area. On being disallowed, Khaira raised slogans against the Congress government. “I only have to visit a particular spot and tell the people of Punjab about the situation as I see it. We are not here to break any law,” Khaira said while asking the police to let him proceed.“Rather than stopping me today, the Amarinder Singh government should have woken up after the recent catastrophic molasses leakage incident. I was going there (Batala) in a peaceful manner, I did not break any law. The issue is of vital public interest, how could they stop me,” Khaira said about the police action. He said, “As the Leader of Opposition, it is my moral responsibility to check if the sugar factory is polluting water in the area.People approached me complaining that that they were facing a lot of problems.” However, the chief minister warned that any attempt by the Aam Aadmi Party leader to take law in his hands would be dealt with according to law. Accusing Khaira of indulging in cheap politics ahead of the Shahkot Assembly bypoll tomorrow, Amarinder Singh said, “It is obvious that AAP leaders had not learnt their lessons from their series of ignominious electoral defeats not just in Punjab but across the country.”

For more news updates Follow and Like us on Facebook