Eye on Dalit votes, Sidhu visits Dera Sachkhand Ballan
JALANDHAR: In an attempt to woo the Dalits ahead of the 2022 assembly elections, Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu visited Dera Sachkhand Ballan, a prominent place revered by the Scheduled Caste community, in Jalandhar on Friday. He also visited Dera Jaura of Sant Nirmal Dass at Raipur village in the district.
He was accompanied by cabinet ministers Charanjit Singh Channi and Aruna Chaudhary; working presidents of party Sukhwinder Singh Danny and Sangat Singh Gilzian; former MP Mohinder Singh Kaypee and over a dozen party MLAS.
Sidhu reached Jalandhar in the afternoon and met party MLAS and senior leaders, before they all reached Dera Sachkhand at Ballan village where he met its head Sant Niranjan Dass and also partook of a langar.
In his address, Sidhu said he has come to seek their blessings in his endeavour to work for uplifting and empowering the underprivileged sections of society. “I am not here to do any kind of politics. Religion is higher than politics. We should take guidance from the religion,” Sidhu said.
Sidhu also visited Dera Jaura of Sant Nirmal Dass at Raipur village.
Faces farmers’ protest
Farmers staged a protest against Navjot Singh Sidhu near to Dera Ballan on Jalandhar-pathankot highway even as police kept the protesters at a bay. Farmers said Sidhu was playing politics rather than supporting them on the three farm laws. They said Sidhu has single agenda to somehow let Congress form the government in Punjab in 2022. Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Kashmir Singh said Sidhu didn’t visit Singu border where farmers were protesting since November last year. “But, farmers on their own have enough power to force the central government to repeal the laws,” he said.