Row at R-Day event in Moga: Two Congress leaders target DPRO for not announcing their names

Former Congress district president Tara Singh Sandhu and Jat Mahasabha leader, Hari Singh Khai, also alleged that DPRO highlighting ex-Akalis, who had recently joined Congress and was deliberately ignoring loyal and senior Congressmen.

Congress leaders Khai and Sandhu while rebuking DPRO Teja Singh at Moga during R-Day prog.

Two Congress leaders allegedly abused and misbehaved with the District Public Relations Officer (DPRO) during an official Republic Day programme at Moga Saturday after the leaders’ names were ‘not announced’ by DPRO Teja Singh.

Former Congress district president Tara Singh Sandhu and Jat Mahasabha leader, Hari Singh Khai, also alleged that DPRO highlighted ex-Akalis, who had recently joined Congress and was deliberately ignoring loyal and senior Congressmen.

Speaking to The Indian Express, DPRO, Moga, Teja Singh said he did not skip names of both Congress leaders deliberately. “They arrived very late and were sitting in back rows. I wasn’t able to see them. They got furious and asked why the name of Jagroop Singh Takhtupura, who is an ex-Akali, was taken and not theirs. Both walked towards me and started misbehaving. They hurled abuses at me and snatched my pen. I tried to pacify them but they walked out. I did not promote Akalis as I am not from any party,” said DPRO.

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Senior Congress leader Tara Singh Sandhu said he did not abuse the DPRO but his style of working. “This DPRO was hired when Bikram Singh Majithia was PR minister during SAD-BJP rule. Even after Congress came to power, he has deliberately highlighted and promoted Akalis who joined Congress during press releases and official programmes.”

He is doing this to humiliate loyal Congressmen like us. I registered my protest not because our names were not announced but against discrimination. I clearly told him that he is promoting Akalis. I did not abuse him but his style of work and said that I will not let this continue. When I went to complain that our names had been skipped, he taunted me and asked me my name- as if he doesn’t know me,” said Sandhu.

Divya Goyal

Divya Goyal is a Principal Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Punjab. Her interest lies in exploring both news and feature stories, with an effort to reflect human interest at the heart of each piece. She writes on gender issues, education, politics, Sikh diaspora, heritage, the Partition among other subjects. She has also extensively covered issues of minority communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She also explores the legacy of India's partition and distinct stories from both West and East Punjab. She is a gold medalist from the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, the most revered government institute for media studies in India, from where she pursued English Journalism (Print). Her research work on “Role of micro-blogging platform Twitter in content generation in newspapers” had won accolades at IIMC. She had started her career in print journalism with Hindustan Times before switching to The Indian Express in 2012. Her investigative report in 2019 on gender disparity while treating women drug addicts in Punjab won her the Laadli Media Award for Gender Sensitivity in 2020. She won another Laadli for her ground report on the struggle of two girls who ride a boat to reach their school in the border village of Punjab. ... Read More

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