BATHINDA: Accused the incumbent Congress of encouraging its workers of intimidating Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) activists during the voting for zila parishad and panchayat samiti elections held on Wednesday, Akali workers staged protest outside the Bathinda district administrative complex on Thursday. Led by former minister Sikander Singh Maluka, they demanded cancellation of the poll process and sought a repoll in the entire Bathinda district.Akali workers narrated the incidents at their respective villages and told Maluka how the Congress supporters indulged in snatching ballot papers and intimidating them.While addressing the protesters, Maluka said, "Congress workers have crossed all limits and tried to capture booths. At some places Akalis confronted them. However, at many places, they used the police force to make Akalis move away from the polling booths so that they could cast votes as per their wishes. We will not tolerate this and resist their highhandedness. We demand that the poll process in Bathinda district should be cancelled and repolling be ordered."Punjab power minister Gurpreet Singh Kangar also encouraged the Congress workers to capture booths," Maluka alleged.When contacted, SSP Dhesi said he did not want to comment on any of these things. "I am just performing my duties," he said. On his sports achievements, Dhesi said he was the junior Asian champion in shotput event in 1992. "Over the years, I have remained the national gold medallist in shotput, All India Police Games gold medallist, World Police Games gold medalist and also a silver medallist in the South Asian Games," the SSP added.Akalis also handed over a memorandum to the administrative officials. When contacted, Kangar and said Akalis were levelling false charges. "People of the state are against Akalis. Now, they are making wild allegations, which is evident from the fact that repolling has been ordered at only one booth in the district," he said.Bathinda additional deputy commissioner (ADC) Sakshi Sawhney confirmed that repolling had been ordered at just one booth in Dialpura Mirza village.

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