Only VIP sangat gets darshan here

Only a select few had the privilege of attending Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's Sangat Darshan in Kapurthala and Jalandhar.

Only a select few had the privilege of attending Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s Sangat Darshan in Kapurthala and Jalandhar. The residents who had come with grievances raised slogans outside the tent when the police did not allow them to meet the CM.

“This Sangat Darshan is eyewash, as only selected panchayat members were allowed to meet the CM,” said Paramjit Kaur of Shahkot Sanghwal village. Even inside the tent, the women who had lined up to meet the CM, were stopped by the cops mid-way. They said they had directions from higher authorities.

“We wanted to ask the CM that he had announced compensation for the flood-affected farmers, but what about the farm labourers, who are sittings idle at home,” said Paramjit Kaur.

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Sukhjinder Kaur of Mandhala village said she wanted to ask the CM when would the state implement National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, under which 100 days of assured employment is given to the jobless in villages. “I was not allowed to meet the CM, who was sitting 50 yard away,” she added.

Bibi Baksho of Giddarpindi had come with a demand of waiving farmers’ loan taken from the co-operative banks, but she too had to return empty-handed. A group of women later raised slogans against the CM.

Similar was the scene at the Sangat Darshan held at Bharoana village in Kapurthala district.

Badal met 17 panchayats in Kapurthala and 12 in Jalandhar. The cavalcade of the CM blocked the entire Jalandhar-Makhu Road for hours together, causing inconvenience to commuters.

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