Dr. Avnish Jolly ,Ropar 26 Apr : The famed NRI belt of Banga-Nawanshahr witnessed a profusion of youth power at the public meetings addressed by Congress candidate from Anandpur Sahib Ravneet Singh Bittu on Sunday.
Youth Congress leaders from various adjoining districts descended on the venues of his public meetings with their hordes of supporters in a massive show of support for their Punjab chief who has been fielded by the youth icon of the party Rajiv Gandhi against Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal’s political advisor Daljeet Singh Cheema.
As Bittu’s cavalcade snaked its way through Gunachaur, Jagatpur, Sarhal Kajian, Rahipa, Ratinda, Bakhlaur, Meerpur Lakha, Chahal Khurd, Raipur Daba, Jhingran and Banga, the youth brigade followed him everywhere.
Addressing the gatherings Bittu said that fielding young candidates was part of Rahul Gandhi’s efforts to enfuse more dynamism in the Indian polity and rid the system of the scourge of corruption. He urged the youth to strive to make this experiment a success so that it opened up new avenues for them in the running of the country.
The youth supporters responded enthusiastically to Bittu’s call and vowed to give a befitting reply to his rival Akali Dal candidate Cheema who had called the Congress candidate a school kid. With a raise of hands they pledged to set Cheema packing back to his home district Gurdaspur.
It was emphasized again at the public meetings that Cheema was a very weak candidate having lost his security deposit while contesting the assembly elections from Gurdaspur district as a rival Akali candidate and having finished fifth in the municipal elections from Jalandhar. The only reason for which he had been made the political advisor of chief minister Parkash Singh Badal was because he was advising the chief minister how to grab prime government land, river sand, liquor vend and transport route contracts, added various speakers at these meetings.
At all these meetings Ravneet was accompanied by ex-MLA from Banga Chaudhary Tarlochan Singh Soondh, who attacked the Akalis for taking the state to the brink of disaster by stoking terrorism and enflaming religious sentiments.
He said the Badals were misguiding the gullible people. On the one hand they greeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi by presenting expensive bouquets while pleading for central grants for the states, which the PM granted in wholesome measure, and on the other as soon as they crossed Ambala they started criticizing him for every ill in the state, he added.