Shiromani Akali Dal urges State Election Commission to deploy para-military forces for municipal elections

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Tuesday urged the State Election Commission (SEC) to deploy para-military forces to ensure free and fair municipal elections.

The Shirom Akali Dal (SAD) on Tuesday urged the State Election Commission (SEC) to deploy para-military forces to ensure free and fair municipal elections.

A SAD delegation led by former minister Dr Daljit Singh Cheema also informed State Election Commissioner Jagpal Singh Sandhu about the attack on Akali workers and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal at Jalalabad.

Terming the attack as a sad day for democracy, the delegation asked the SEC to hold a probe into the entire incident and recommend registration of appropriate cases against the "Congress goons who indulged in the violence" as well as police officials who had facilitated the same.

He also informed the SEC that weapons had been used to fire upon Akali candidates who had reached the SDM complex at Jalalabad along with the SAD president to file their nomination papers.

The SAD leader said the matter had also been raised during the all party meeting.

He said, "We told the chief minister that at a time when we are discussing how democratic norms are being destroyed by the central government, even more heinous crimes are being done at the grass-root level in Punjab. The chief minister took note of our complaint and assured us to look into it but we are still waiting for concrete action," he added.

( With inputs from ANI )