In the past 48 hours, the Punjab government has booked at least nine MLAs, an equal number of former ministers and over 2,500 Akali Dal-BJP workers for participating in the rasta roko last Sunday.Interestingly, while senior Akali leaders have been slapped with charges as serious as attempt to murder and causing grievous injury, many of the workers have been booked for flouting the Indian Forest Act, Environment Act and even the Noise Pollution Act.The list of leaders who face the government ire is long and distinguished as it includes former ministers like Bibi Jagir Kaur, Ajit Singh Kohar, Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Balvir Singh, and Manoranjan Kaila.Akali leaders claim the government has unleashed terror in the state by ordering every SSP to register at least 200 cases each. At one police station in Phillaur alone, 300 Akali Dal workers were booked. Similarly in Hoshiarpur city, 175 people were booked for participating in chakka jam while in Dasuya, two MLAs were booked. Jagraon police station saw two Akali MLAs being charged along with 150 others.The agitation was organised on Sunday in protest against the filing of challan against Badal. Police sources say they were told to take a headcount of the agitating Akalis and identify the main leaders who were organising the rasta roko.
