Punjab Congress leaders stage protest even as Alka Lamba appears before police in Rupnagar

Up in arms against the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) summons issued by Punjab Police against Delhi Congress leader Alka Lamba, leaders, workers and supporters of Punjab Congress on Wednesday held a protest in Rupnagar district of Punjab.

Led by newly-elected Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, the party’s leaders including Punjab Congress Legislature party leader Partap Singh Bajwa, MLAs Sukhjinder Randhawa and Raj Kumar Chabbewal, former ministers Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Balbir Sidhu and Gurkirat Kotli and Punjab Youth Congress chief Brinder Dhillon accompanied Lamba when she reached Rupnagar to appear before the police.

She has been booked for allegedly making "inflammatory statements" against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

A case was also lodged against poet-turned-politician and former founder member of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Kumar Vishwas at Rupnagar Sadar police station on April 12.

Ahead of the Assembly polls, Vishwas had accused Kejriwal of supporting separatists. Lamba has been accused of backing the remarks made by Vishwas.

The Congress party leaders and workers staged the protest outside the office of Rupnagar’s Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and raised slogans against the Bhagwant Mann government.

Addressing the protesters, Warring slammed the AAP government in Punjab, accusing it of "misusing" the police for political vendetta.

He said the entire state leadership of the party had come to Rupnagar in support of Lamba. "We will not tolerate any injustice against our sister (Lamba)," Warring said.

Former Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu also reached Rupnagar separately in support of Lamba.

A heavy police force was deployed outside the SSP office to avoid any untoward incident.

Police had earlier summoned Lamba on April 26 but she was later asked to appear before it on April 27.

Meanwhile, Kumar Vishwas on Tuesday moved Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking quashing of the FIR lodged against him by the Rupnagar police. He submitted that the case registered against him was a sheer abuse of the process of law and politically motivated.

‘The manner in which the investigating agency is proceeding, it is apparent that it is trying to curtail the liberty of the petitioner by adopting a procedure unknown to law,’ Kumar said in his petition.