Representatives of various organisations gathered in large numbers on the Zaildar Innovations premises to support its owners Malkeet Singh and Gurmeet Singh amid an ongoing dispute involving Punjab Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian.Opposition leader Pratap Singh Bajwa condemned the minister’s alleged actions, stating that while the government encouraged industrial investment in villages, ministers like Mundian were pressuring business owners to claim a share in their factories.“We will not tolerate the goondaism of ministers,” Bajwa said, referring to the minister’s involvement in an earlier case of confiscated trolleys during the farmers’ protest.Congress leader Sarbjot Sabi assured the business owners of full support, saying, “Every Congress worker in Mukerian will stand shoulder to shoulder with the Zaildar Innovation family.” Leaders of the Shiromani Akali Dal, including district president Lakhwinder Singh Lakhi Tanda and senior leader Ishar Singh Manjhapur, also visited the premises to meet and support Malkeet Singh.Family members of the business owners released a video appeal to the Chief Minister, stating that the “harassment” by the minister had made the family live in fear. They said the children were unable to attend school regularly due to safety concerns, severely impacting their education.The village panchayat, meanwhile, had a gathering of villagers, led by sarpanch Baldev Singh. The panchayat members said the dispute with Zaildar Innovations originated from issues created by the business owners themselves.According to the sarpanch Baldev Singh, the owners had previously sought to occupy land in the village playground for installing trolleys and it was got vacated with much difficulty. Now, an acre reserved by the Panchayat for the sewage treatment plant has been occupied by them and they had sown sugarcane on it. Such actions have caused unrest among the villagers. The panchayat claimed that they had formally reported these concerns to the BDPO and other authorities to prevent instability in the village.Mundian dismisses ‘baseless’ chargesCabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian has strongly refuted the allegations levelled against him involving Zaildar Innovations, terming them “baseless and part of a political conspiracy to defame him”. In a statement, the minister said he comes from a family of a freedom fighter and that his father instilled in him the values of honesty and public service.He said if the company claimed that any payment was pending against him for a trolley, it should formally send a bill. “If I owe them money, I am ready to pay it immediately, but the reality is that there’s no amount pending” he added. —TNS