The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
From Canada, to campaign for AAP and against drugs in Punjab
THE NRI CAMPAIGNER
TACKLING the “drug menace and ensuring a better future for the state”, Kulbir Singh Sandhu says, is what brought him from Toronto to the thick of the Punjab elections.
“I feel ashamed when Punjab’s name gets associated with drugs. People are forgetting the state’s stellar contribution to the freedom struggle, the Indian Army and its role in ushering in the Green Revolution. Debt-ridden farmers are dying here every day, religion is disrespected, drugs are eating away our youth, and we do not have good education and health facilities for the poor,” says the turbaned man, clad in a pair of blue jeans, a black jacket and black sports shoes.
Sandhu, 48, a truck driver in Toronto, is among a large number of NRI volunteers who have been campaigning for the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab. Sandhu has been here for 1½ months since December 14 and says he has so far visited dozens of villages, apart from taking part in the special NRI campaign, in which the party ferries, in a “special bus”, NRIS to dozens of villages in Doaba and Majha.
“Apart from my own schedule, I go wherever I am asked to by the party candidate. We are also streaming political rallies and showing the poor development in rural Punjab, particularly to NRIS sitting abroad, through social media,” he says.
On this day, he is at Dhurian village, about 10 km from Tanda town on the Hoshiarpurtanda Road, where a group of people are already waiting for him. Sandhu introduces himself before launching an attack on the Badals. “It pains my heart when I see the deplorable plight of this number one suba (state) due to the goonda raj of these greedy Badals, whose business is flourishing, while people are struggling to make ends meet,” he says. “Do we need this kind of government again here? Do we deserve such a life? Don’t we require a second inquilab in Punjab? You need to teach a lesson to these Badals and [BS] Majithia? The time has come for you to wake up from your slumber and think about your children’s future,” he says, appealing to those in the crowd to vote for the jhadu.
Sandhu repeats the speech in the next lane of the village before he, along with a group of local AAP leaders, goes from door to door urging people to give Arvind Kejriwal “at least one chance”. They paste small posters on the gates of the houses and put up AAP flags, spending close to two hours in a village.
“I have chosen AAP because people of the state have seen enough of the SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress. Poor people of my village are still where they were over two decades ago. In such a situation, a new party, which is quite promising too, should be given a chance,” Sandhu says.
Hailing from Kharal, a village in Tanda, Sandhu has been staying with old friends in Hoshiarpur and Tanda despite having a house in his village. “AAP is fighting its maiden assembly election in Punjab and every second counts. So instead of spending time and energy on operationalising a locked house, I would rather utilise this precious time in campaigning for the party and my friends have been supporting me in it,” he says.
At Januari village, his third for the day, he speaks of the troubles NRIS like him face here. “I left the country in my early 20s. I have seen the worst of Punjab in the past decade. The properties of NRIS are not safe here as the government hardly helps us to get back property grabbed by our relatives. Starting a business here is also a big hurdle for NRIS,” he says, adding that his wife wasn’t keen on him coming to the state due to the “ever-decaying” law-and-order situation.
But the only thing he is cautious about, Sandhu says, is water and food. He politely refuses soft drinks and water he gets offered at the villages he campaigns in, preferring his own water that he carries in his vehicle, and sticks to consuming fruits through the day. “Our fitness is a priority as we have come here with a mission and cannot afford to fall sick. I have even brought some antibiotics from Canada,” he says. “I will be canvassing till late at night for the remaining days before the elections,” he adds.