Dera followers back on the streets
Followers of the sect came out in the streets in Sirsa to protest against the permission granted by the Punjab government for the arrest of their head, report Manish Tiwari and Hitender Rao.
The Dera Sacha Sauda issue is on the boil in Punjab and Haryana. While the Congress raised a ruckus in the Punjab Assembly over the issue on Thursday, followers of the sect came out in the streets in Sirsa to protest against the permission granted by the Punjab government for the arrest of their head.
Punjab Congress legislators led by Leader of the Opposition Rajinder Kaur Bhattal raised slogans against the SAD-BJP government in the state Assembly after they were not allowed to debate the alleged deterioration in the law and order situation "arising out of the government's sanction on Wednesday evening for Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh's arrest".
Assembly Speaker Nirmal Singh Kahlon had to adjourn the House twice, before finally adjourning the proceedings till tomorrow.
Soon after Question Hour, Bhattal moved an adjournment motion to discuss the law and order situati on and the issue of the Dera chief's arrest. Stating that the matter was important and needed to be discussed immediately, the Opposition leader pressed for the adjournment. "Yesterday's development is a serious issue and it’s aggravated the fear psychosis among the people of the state," Bhattal said.