Bathinda: Shiromani Akali Dal on Saturday accused the Mansa district administration of “locking up” its 14 block samiti members — allegedly at the behest of the Aam Aadmi Party — to prevent them from taking part in the election for office-bearers of the Mansa block samiti. The party claimed it had the support of 14 members in the 26-member house, while AAP and its allies had 12. However, elections were held with only 12 members present, leading to the selection of Khushpreet Kaur as chairperson and Rajpreet Kaur as vice-chairperson.According to SAD, its members — including an independent — reached the zila parishad office for the meeting but were taken to the first floor and “confined” in rooms until polling was completed. They also alleged that the MLA’s personal assistant behaved indecently and made inappropriate gestures while leaving in an SUV.Terming the episode a “murder of democracy,” Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the party would move the Punjab and Haryana high court if the election is not cancelled within two days. SAD members have submitted a written complaint to ADC Anuprita Johal.Mansa SDM Baljit Kaur said 12 members and the MLA attended the meeting and elected the office-bearers, while others “chose to stay away.” She denied any locking-up of members. Mansa MLA Vijay Singla also rejected the allegations, calling them “vague” and asserting that the election was conducted transparently.Pics: Block Samiti members raising voice from windows alleging they were locked to stop from participating in the election
