A public outreach programme organised by AAP’s MLA from Maur, Sukhveer Singh Maiserkhana, at Balianwali village in the Maur Assembly segment on Thursday witnessed protest by the village panchayat, members of a local sangharsh committee and some residents over some cases registered against them in the past.

According to the protesters, the police formed a human chain near the stage to prevent them. They, however, raised slogans against the state government and the MLA during the programme.

Addressing the gathering, Maiserkhana highlighted the state government’s achievements and claimed that lakhs of rupees had been spent on development works in the village. Protesters questioned the development claims and demanded answers on pending local issues. Their slogans were met with counter slogans from the AAP workers present at the venue.

The MLA appealed for the programme to continue peacefully and said the issue related to police cases raised by the protesters was an old matter. He added that he was willing to pursue the cancellation of any FIRs registered in connection with the issue.

Later, Balraj Singh Chahal, husband of village Sarpanch Sukhpal Kaur, invited the MLA for a 10-minute discussion with the panchayat and the sangharsh committee. However, the MLA termed the protest politically motivated and left the venue after addressing the gathering.

Following his departure, the panchayat, sangharsh committee members and villagers continued their protest and raised slogans against the state government.

Chahal said the dispute stemmed from an anti-encroachment drive undertaken by the village panchayat in March this year. He alleged that after the residents removed encroachments from the village, the MLA sided with those whose structures had been removed. He further said the panchayat had demolished an abandoned building after passing a resolution and obtaining approval from the Block Development and Panchayat Officer (BDPO), but the police later registered a case against some villagers.

Chahal alleged that despite repeated representations, the villagers were not heard, and another case was subsequently registered. He said the villagers had staged a nine-day protest after which the Deputy Commissioner assured them that the Revenue Department would finalise the land records. He further claimed that when they were trying to question the MLA during Thursday’s programme, he later removed the mic and left the venue.

“Later, a meeting was held with the local SDM, who assured us to reolve the issue at the earliest,” claimed Chahal.

Talking to The Tribune on Friday, MLA Sukhveer Singh Maiserkhana said, “The issue was related to the FIR registered against some village residents in the past. I assured them of my support in resolving the issue.” The MLA further said the microphone was his own and that he used to bring it to the venue every time.