Chandigarh, February 25 A delegation from the Punjab Congress met Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Wednesday, requesting an inquiry into the demolition of a portion of the property belonging to party MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira.
The delegation included Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, Khaira, and MLA Aruna Chaudhary.
A portion of the structure near Khaira's residence was demolished by district authorities as part of an anti-encroachment drive in the Ramgarh village in the Bholath area of Kapurthala on Monday.
Khaira alleged on Monday that the demolition took place without any prior notice and was carried out by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann "to silence dissenting voices and democratic opposition."
He claimed that a portion of his legitimate ancestral house in his native village, a property where his family has resided for decades, was illegally demolished by the district administration using heavy police force.
After submitting the representation to the governor on Wednesday evening, Punjab Congress chief Warring condemned the demolition, claiming that it was carried out without any prior notice.
Warring termed the demolition as "vendetta politics" against Khaira. He said the delegation met the governor, seeking a fair inquiry into the matter.
Bajwa said the governor has been informed in detail about the incident.
"We said that it is unfortunate that Punjab has become a police state," Bajwa said.
Khaira said the delegation demanded action against the concerned police and civil officers for the demolition.
"We would like to bring to your kind notice a blatantly illegal and contemptuous action of demolishing a boundary wall of Khaira's private property situated at Village Ramgarh, District Kapurthala, with a view to silence his voice and cause irreparable damage to his reputation.
"We must point out here that since the formation of the present government in March of 2022, Khaira has actively and vociferously opposed all anti-people, anti-Punjab and hypocritical policies of the Aam Aadmi Party government both inside and outside the Punjab Legislative Assembly, as is his duty as an elected member of the opposition," said the representation submitted to the governor.
Khaira claimed that he was neither served any prior notice nor given an opportunity of hearing before carrying out the demolition.
He also claimed that he possesses complete documentary records of ownership and asserted that not even an inch of his village property is illegal or unauthorized.