PPP staying away,SAD,Cong set for poll slugfest over Shaheedi Jor Mela

The Shaheedi Jor Mela is organised every year to commemorate the martyrdom anniversary of Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh at Fatehgarh Sahib.

Baba Zorawar Singh and Baba Fateh Singh,the youngest of the four sons of tenth guru of Sikhs Guru Gobind Singh,were bricked up alive by Sirhind Governor Wazir Khan,after the brothers refused to convert to Islam.

The SAD-BJP combine and Congress,even as both parties stand poles apart on their political agenda,have one thing in common—they seize every opportunity to cash in on religious functions like the Shaheedi Jor Mela or the Muktsar Maghi Mela among others to spell out their respective political ideology and condemn policies of each other.

No wonder then that both the parties are ready for a political slugfest in Fatehgarh Sahib on Tuesday.

The new entrant in Punjab’s political scene People’s Party of Punjab (PPP) has,however,decided against using the religious function to further their political interests. “The day we announced our party PPP at Khatkarkalan,we had announced that we would not use such occasions for political purposes,” PPP president Manpreet Badal told The Indian Express over phone on Monday. “We want to give such functions and festivals back to Punjabi people and not force them to attend political conferences,” Manpreeet said.

Asked about PPP’s stand on upcoming Maghi Mela in Muktsar,where during the last Mela Manpreet had managed to attract an impressive turnout,the PPP chief said that the party conference would be held “outside municipal limits (of Muktsar) this time”.