9 SAD MLAs from Punjab booked for trying to confront Haryana CM outside assembly

Nine Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) legislators from Punjab have been booked for their alleged attempt to gherao and confront Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar outside the assembly here last week, officials said on Tuesday.

The booked legislators are former ministers Sharanjit Singh Dhillon and Bikram Singh Majithia, Baldev Singh Khaira, Sukhwinder Kumar, Harinder Pal Singh Chandumajra, Kanwarjit Singh Barkandi, Manpreet Singh Ayali, Gurpartap Singh Wadala and N K Sharma. The Shiromani Akali Dal termed the registration of case against its MLAs an "unfortunate and undemocratic step".

The Chandigarh Police registered the case against the SAD MLAs under relevant IPC sections including 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), according to a copy of the FIR.

The SAD legislators had confronted Khattar outside the assembly hall on March 10 and had demanded that a resolution be passed in the Haryana assembly against the Centre's three new farm laws.

Thereafter, the Haryana assembly secretariat had decided to lodge an FIR against the group of Punjab MLAs for allegedly misbehaving with Khattar.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Speaker Gian Chand Gupta with state home secretary Rajeev Arora and police chief Manoj Yadava in attendance.

Speaker Gupta on Monday had condemned the incident and had informed the House that a group of SAD MLAs from Punjab allegedly tried to gherao and attack the Haryana chief minister outside the assembly hall last week when he was interacting with the media.

Gupta had also spoken to Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana K P Singh over the phone and urged him to take cognisance of the matter.

Meanwhile, SAD leader and former minister Daljit Singh Cheema dubbed the registration of an FIR against the Akali legislators as an "unfortunate and undemocratic step." He stated that the Akali MLAs had protested against Khattar outside the assembly.