He was elected as a member of Ambala Zila Parishad in the Zila Parishad polls recently held.
Updated – Sat 12/24/22 05:14pm
He was elected as a member of Ambala Zila Parishad in the Zila Parishad polls recently held.
Ambala: A day before the Ambala Zila Parishad presidential election, police detained AAP leader Makkhan Singh Labana on Saturday for his alleged involvement in illegally sending people abroad.
The development prompted AAP to condemn the police action, which it called a “politically motivated move”.
Labana is the Aam Aadmi Party’s presidential candidate and claims the support of some opposition members in Zila Parishad.
He was elected as a member of Ambala Zila Parishad in the Zila Parishad polls recently held.
The BJP and AAP are expected to hold a close contest for the chairmanship on Sunday.
Ambala Zila Parishad has 20 members. Both the BJP and AAP claim the support of a majority of members.
AAP northern district convener Chitra Sarwara condemned the arrest of Rabbana, saying it was “a politically motivated move and an abuse of police power”.
A police team arrived at the AAP leader’s home in Ambala city on Saturday morning and took him into custody.
Agitated party workers led by Sarwara staged a protest march through the city and later demonstrated in front of the Superintendent of Police (SP) office.
Police forces are deployed outside SP offices in case of any situation.
Sarwara told reporters that the BJP won only two seats in Ambala Zila Parishad’s 20-member house in the election.
She said the BJP, terrified after its defeat in Zila Parishad’s election, has now been “abusing government mechanisms to demoralize members of the opposition”.
Referring to Labana’s arrest, she said, “It is the murder of democracy to arrest an elected member just one day before the election of chairman.” Sarwara said the AAP would file charges in court against the alleged detention of Labana.
She asked the regional administration to postpone the election of the chairmanship until the court announced its decision on the party’s petition.
Labana joined the AAP after quitting the BJP a few months ago.
Last month, he entered the Zila parishad polls with the AAP vote and won from the 9th constituency in Zila Parishad.
Ambala police chief Jashndeep Singh Randhawa said Labana was allegedly involved in a case of illegally sending people abroad.
Two people have been linked to the case, he said, adding that an investigation is ongoing.
