Chandigarh, Jun 15 (IANS): Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Badal along with several legislators and leaders were detained by Punjab police on Tuesday when they were marching towards the residence of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh near here to lodge their protest.

The Akali Dal-BSP combine was demanding the dismissal of Health Minister Balbir Sidhu and a CBI probe into irregularities in sale of vaccines and medical kits for Covid patients.

"There is a scam in Covid-19 vaccination, there is a scam in Fateh Kit, there is a scam in SC scholarship, there is a scam in SC scholarship. Farmers' land is being acquired," Badal told the media.

During the protest, the police detained several protesters before using water cannons against them when they were on the way to the Chief Minister's farmhouse at Siswan, on the outskirts of Chandigarh, and sent them to the nearby police station.

The Akali workers were joined by BSP activists as the two parties have forged an alliance ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) state president Jasbir Singh Garhi was also detained from the protest site along with Akali legislators, including Bikram Singh Majithia.

A day earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party staged a protest in front of the residence of Amarinder Singh against the alleged scam in the post-matric scholarship scheme for Dalit students.