The Mohali district unit of the Congress on Saturday held a massive protest against the Shiv Sena in Mohali. Led by local party MLA Balbir Sidhu and Congress MP from Anandpur Sahib Ravneet Singh Bittu,hundreds of Congress leaders and activists burnt the effigy of the Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and warned him and his other party leaders against their alleged anti-national statements. The Congress protest at the busy Phase III-VII traffic light point also blocked the vehicular traffic to and fro Chandigarh and Mohali for almost two hours. On the call given by Sidhu,who is also the Mohali District Congress Committee president,the Congressmen gathered at the protest venue at 10 am and torched Thackerays effigy before renting the air with anti-Shiv Sena slogans. Addressing the protesters,Sidhu and Bittu warned the Shiv Sena leaders against issuing statements against the national interest and aimed at creating division among people from different caste,colour,creed and area. Taking a dig at the Shiv Sena leaders for their recent statements against Congress president Sonia Gandhi and his son Rahul Gandhi,the Congress leaders said all residents of India were Indians first and no area or state could be earmarked or reserved for any specific category of people given the freedom in the democratic nation. They threatened that anybody trying to disturb the national integrity and peace would be tackled sternly.
