Chautala may address INLD rally today, doubts over Mayawati
PUNJAB IS set to witness a ‘politically hot’ Sunday, with the ruling Congress and opposition Akalis organising mega rallies in each other’s bastions and claiming to outdo each other. A group of the main opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), meanwhile, will be in Bargari for a march to express solidarity with radical Sikh leaders sitting on a dharna there.
While the Congress has not left any stone unturned to make the rally in Kilianwali village in former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s Lambi constituency, Akalis are organising a ‘Jabar Virodhi rally’ in Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s native town and his family’s pocket borough, Patiala.
Former Leader of Opposition and AAP ‘rebel’ leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira will lead a march to Bargari to express solidarity with radical Sikh leaders staging a dharna to seek action on their demands. All MLAs and MPs of AAP are expected to participate in the March.
Both Akalis and Congress have claimed they had erected the biggest ever pandal. Amarinder’s political secretary Capt Sandeep Singh Sandhu told The Sunday Express that they had put up a massive pandal. “We are expecting a crowd of nearly two lakh people. We have engaged 3,000 buses and 10,000 light vehicles to ferry people. It will be a massive rally,” he said adding it would show the popularity of Amarinder as the Chief Minister.
Congress already assigned five Cabinet ministers , PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar to camp in Lambi and make the rally a success. Amarinder would be reaching there from Delhi in the government chopper that would land on a patch of concrete near the rally venue. The in charges of districts for the rally have been asked to make arrangement of food for the people, who would attend the rally.
On the other hand, the Akalis also claimed similar size of the pandal for their rally in Patiala. Parambans Singh Romana, an Akali leader said that they had never erected a pandal of such a large size earlier. He added, “We are expecting around one lakh people. As the government engaged most of the bus transport for their rally tomorrow, we are making do with tractors and trolleys. Our supporters in Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala are telling us that they would even walk to reach the rally venue.”
The rally would be addressed by Badal, his former Deputy Chief Minister son Sukhbir Singh Badal and former Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia. Four senior Akalis leaders including Ranjit Singh Brahmpura, Ratan Singh Ajnala and Sewa Singh Sekhwan have already announced they would stay away from the rally. Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa had resigned from all party posts and has been incommunicado since then.
Badal has taken to social media to appeal to the workers to be present in the rally.
As political parties engaged in their political activities tomorrow, SSA and RMSA teachers are also starting their fast unto death from CM’s hometown tomorrow to protest against government’s regularisation policy under which they would have to forgo their salary worth over Rs 25,000 per month.
AAP’s Sukhpal Khaira said they would gather at Kotkapura Dana Mandi at 10 am tomorrow alongwith their supporters and start a massive march from there to reach Bargari, 25 km away from the Assembly spot. He said they are demanding that the guilty for Behbal Kalan firing should be punished.