VOICE OF EX-SERVICEMEN PUNJAB

At Capt’s rally, MLA slaps party man

Capt Amarinder Singh addresses a rally in Dinanagar on Wednesday. a tribune photograph

Ravi Dhaliwal

Tribune News Service

Dinanagar (Gurdaspur), June 8

It was a day when both temperatures and tempers ran high with a Congress MLA putting his party men in a tight spot after he slapped a supporter — who inadvertently made his way to the stage — in full public glare.

The occasion was the protest rally in front of the Paniar sugar mill against the non-payment of sugarcane arrears to farmers by the state government.

The event, which was presided over by PPCC chief Capt Amarinder Singh, paled into insignificance as the talk throughout the day veered around ‘slapgate’.

An hour before the arrival of Amarinder, Congressmen faced an unsavoury situation when sitting Dera Baba Nanak legislator Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa whacked a fellow party man in front of hundreds of supporters and TV channels.

The supporter was identified as IS Gulati, president of the District Sewa Dal, a Congress frontal organisation.

Gulati, after being hit on the face, retaliated and tried to return the MLA back in the same coin. However, Randhawa avoided being hit as he ducked just in the nick of time.

The MLA’s detractors were quick to upload the video on social media while TV channels too showed extensive footage of what happened, including the exchange of words before the encounter turned physical.

Pandemonium reigned supreme for some time before senior leaders intervened. Later, Gulati left the venue in a huff but not before he lost his turban after he was yet again was roughed up by Randhawa’s loyal men while on his way out.

The consensus among senior Congressmen was that such incidents should be avoided in the run-up to the Assembly elections where every seat is crucial keeping in view the emergence of AAP.

“The MLA has inflicted heavy damage to the party fabric. After all, he is a democratically elected representative of the people and should always put his best foot forward. His behaviour should be immaculate, but unfortunately, it was not,” said a former Cabinet minister.

Meanwhile, Amarinder — in his speech — said that the capacity of all sugar mills in the state would be increased when his party comes to power. He ended his extempore address by indulging in his favourite pastime of Badal bashing.

“Such is the mess created by the Akalis that a time will soon come when its leaders, including the CM and his son, will not dare to venture out in the public,” he said.

Prominent among those who attended were former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa, AICC secretary Harish Chowdhury and many former and sitting MLAs.

At Pathankot, PPCC chief reaches out to ex-servicemen

Tribune News Service

Pathankot, June 8

PPCC chief Amarinder Singh today reached out to retired Army men by holding an interactive session here.

This Hindu-dominated district has three Assembly seats — Pathankot, Bhoa and Sujanpur — and all three have BJP MLAs. The ex-servicemen vote bank here is 60,000 strong.

Sources claim that all three seats have a dominant presence of ex-servicemen and it is this vote bank that determines an election outcome.

Observers attribute the huge presence of Army men in the district to the Mamun cantonment and the Air Force station.

“Over the years, whenever any recruitment drive is held, our youngsters are the first to be selected. To join the Army has become a tradition with the residents. Generation after generation, youngsters have been joining the Army or the Air Force. For our children, we see no other avenue of employment except joining the forces. This explains the large presence of Army men in Pathankot, Bhoa and Sujanpur,” said Pushp Lata, mother of Ashok Chakra awardee Lt Triveni Singh.

Senior Congress men, although perturbed at not being invited for today’s programme which was organised by Congress political strategist Prashant Kishor’s team, admit that by reaching out to ex-servicemen, the party is sure to make deep inroads into this particular vote bank.

“These people have traditionally been voting for no particular party and go by the one that promises them something. Amarinder has said that if voted to power, he would provide reservation in jobs for ex-servicemen. He has also promised that he would impress upon the central government to have a re-look at the OROP scheme. Now, it is surely time for us to vote for the Congress,” said a retired Captain.

“Amarinder Singh has assured me that he will be taking up the contentious issue of the Phina Singh dam, being constructed by the HP government, with the authorities in New Delhi. Thousands of villagers, who are likely to be affected by the mega venture, have risen in unison against its construction. When the project is completed, the drinking water supply and water for irrigation of 40 villages will be hit. As many as 50,000 people are likely to be affected,” said Vinay Mahajan, a Sujanpur-based senior Congressman.

Even his detractors admit that choosing Pathankot as the venue for today’s programme was a good move on the part of Amarinder.

Readying for poll battle

• The Hindu-dominated district of Pathankot has three Assembly seats — Pathankot, Bhoa and Sujanpur — and all three have BJP MLAs
• The ex-servicemen vote bank here is 60,000 strong. Sources claim that all three seats have a dominant presence of ex-servicemen and it is this vote bank that determines an election outcome