Chandigarh, March 6 Police used water cannons against Punjab Congress leaders and workers on Friday after they attempted to force their way through barricades to "besiege" the state Assembly here as part of a protest against the AAP government.
Police had erected barricades and deployed personnel outside the Punjab Congress office in Sector 15 to prevent party workers from heading towards the Vidhan Sabha.
The party had called for the "besiege" to protest the alleged failure of the AAP dispensation in fulfilling its poll promises, particularly the assurance of Rs 1,000 per month to women, which it said has not been honoured, and the "collapse" of law and order and the state's economy.
Before marching towards the Assembly, Congress leaders and workers, led by state unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, held a protest at the party office and raised slogans against the Bhagwant Mann government.
When the protesters tried to break through the barricades to proceed towards the Vidhan Sabha, police used water cannons to disperse them.
The strong water pressure knocked off the turbans of several protesters.
Prevented from proceeding towards the Assembly, Warring and other party workers sat on the road in protest and were later detained by police.
Speaking to reporters, Warring alleged that the Mann government had "completely failed" on every front. He targeted the state government over its alleged failure to provide Rs 1,000 per month to women, a promise made by the AAP ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls.
Warring said the government should give Rs 1,000 per month along with Rs 48,000 to every woman who has accrued over the last four years, as the AAP had promised to provide the financial assistance after coming to power in 2022.
He further alleged that no new medical college had been set up and the old pension scheme for employees had not been restored. The government, he claimed, was spending huge amounts of money on advertisements.
Warring also criticised the government over the alleged deterioration of law and order in the state, claiming that murder and firing incidents were taking place every day, and businessmen were receiving extortion threats from gangsters.
"No one feels safe in Punjab today," he claimed, while adding that the Punjab government had failed to "protect" the people of the state.
He alleged even policemen were not safe, citing hand grenade blasts at police stations.
"The people of Punjab do not have any expectations from the Punjab government," said Warring while referring to the state budget to be presented by the AAP government on Sunday.
He claimed that Punjab had crossed Rs 4 lakh crore and was likely to reach Rs 4.17 lakh crore soon. Warring said not a single penny was spent on Punjab's development, and the funds were "squandered" by the Aam Aadmi Party to fight elections in Delhi, Gujarat and Goa.
The Punjab Congress president claimed no infrastructure project has been launched by the state government, and instead, it is spending thousands of crores of rupees on advertisements.
Warring said people of Punjab were now seeking answers after four years of AAP's "misrule".
Suggesting a tacit understanding between the AAP and the BJP, he alleged that the two parties have formed an alliance to prevent the Congress from returning to power.
"There has been a secret agreement between AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal and the BJP," he added.
Congress leader Sandeep Sandhu criticised the Chandigarh administration for using water cannons to stop protesters from heading towards the Assembly.
"We have the right to raise our voice outside the assembly... Our voice cannot be suppressed this way. This is a murder of democracy," Sandhu said while condemning the Chandigarh police action against them.
Several party leaders, including Congress MLA Partap Singh Bajwa, Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and Congress MLA Pargat Singh, were present during the protest.
