The People's Party of Punjab chief and Sanjha Morcha chairman Manpreet Badal along with more than 400 supporters courted arrest at Sector 17 on Sunday. They had gathered to protest in favour of anti-graft campaigner Anna Hazare and the Jan Lokpal Bill.
Waving yellow party flags and carrying pictures of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, the group began their march from Sector 3 and walked towards Sector 17. Police had placed barricades at the Sector 17-9 roundabout. Raising slogans in favour of Anna Hazare and against corruption, the protesters hailed Manpreet as the Anna Hazare of Punjab. A total of 436 people courted arrest and were later released. They were filled into buses and taken to the Sector 17 police station.
Addressing the protesters, Manpreet said that the Lokpal Bill has been delayed for 42 years and the draft that was tabled in the Parliament was a watered down version. “The protest today was to support and express solidarity with Anna Hazare. While we were to hold a protest in Sector 17 and had obtained permission for the same, it was revoked by the Administration without informing us,” the PPP chief said.
Stating that his party will support anyone who fights graft, Manpreet said corruption is a big issue in Punjab. He added that if the people of Punjab can go to foreign countries and through hard work achieve great heights they could do the same here but added that corruption was the problem. The farmers and workers in Punjab have the ability to feed the whole country and still have material to export, he said.
Manpreet added: “Corruption is not the only problem that is affecting Punjab. The other problems include unemployment, illiteracy and the problem of drugs. The solution to corruption has to be found from top downwards. There is a need to have 100 good leaders in the country and a few thousand good officers to make a difference.”
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