Punjab Congress president Partap Singh Bajwa today condemned the recent registration of an FIR against the Personal Assistant of Rajwinder Kaur, MLA from Nihalsinghwala and two others for allegedly posting objectionable remarks on Facebook against Agriculture Minister Tota Singh.
He described the action as "an attempt to curb democratic dissent at every level and in every media".
In a statement here, Bajwa alleged that under Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal regime there is no place for democratic dissent and criticism.
He said that freedom of expression could not be crushed like this and what was all the more ironical was that Badal, for years, has been claiming himself to be the champion of civil rights.
Demanding immediate withdrawal of the cases registered on the complaint of Barjinder Singh, son of Tota Singh, he said that the democratic system had never tolerated such distortions and always bounced back, howsoever dictatorial the ruler might be.
Police have lodged two FIRs against the personal assistant of a ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLA and two NRIs recently for allegedly making and circulating derogatory remarks against Tota Singh.
The FIR against Baldev Singh Babu, who is working as a PA to SAD MLA Rajwinder Kaur, was registered at Sadar police station at Moga. The other FIR, against NRIs Rajwinder Singh Khosa and Ravi Baasi, was registered at Kot Isey Khan police station under the IT Act.
In the first FIR, Babu from village Daudhar, who is described as 'Personal Assistant' of SAD MLA Rajwinder Kaur is accused of writing the objectionable post while in the second FIR NRIs Khosa and Baasi, from Khosa Kotla and Talwandi Malliyan village respectively are accused of circulating the objectionable post, police had said.
