ON HIS release from Patiala jail after spending 10 months inside, the first public visit of former Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu was to Moosa village in Mansa, to meet the parents of slain singer Sidhu Moosewala. Sidhu was just the latest politician to drop in at Mooeswala's home, a pitstop now for leaders in Punjab seeking an easy way to put the state's Aam Aadmi Party government on the defensive. Released in the evening of April 1, Sidhu spent a day at home before visiting Moosewala's house on April 3 afternoon. The singer was killed on May 29 last year, when Sidhu was in prison. Earlier, in December 2022, on his return to India after spending more than six months in the US, during which period he made barely any noise on proceedings back home, Congress leader and former CM Charanjit Singh Channi had proceeded almost immediately to meet Moosewala's father Balkaur Singh, spent a night at the family house and posted pictures of the same on Facebook. The AAP administration perhaps didn't help its cause when hours after he had posted the pictures, Channi was served summons by the Mansa police in a case against him – in which Moosewala was a co-accused – of violating a time rule during a road show at the time of the 2022 Assembly elections. Channi had led a very high-decibel Congress campaign during the elections, but lost power as well as both the seats he contested from. Channi claimed that the administration wanted him to keep away, and that the police had first cautioned him against visiting Moosewala's parents and then dug up the old case against him. Channi was later seen at Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra as it passed through Punjab, along with Balkaur Singh. During his visit to Moosa village, Navjot Sidhu drew a link between himself and the slain singer, mentioning pointedly that his security had been scaled down from Z to Y category soon after his release, and that Moosewala's killing had followed a similar reduction of security. Sacked AAP minister Vijay Singla, who had incidentally defeated Moosewala in the Assembly polls, has also been a visitor at the singer's home. Singla, who was removed by the AAP after he faced corruption charges and was jailed, came visiting four days after his release on bail on July 8, 2022. Singla's visit was seen as part of his bid to rebuild a political constituency after his release. Even radical preacher Amritpal Singh, who has been evading an AAP government hunt, has talked about hoping to meet Moosewala's parents soon. As Operation Amritpal began in earnest, with the snapping of the Internet, pro-Khalistan Sangrur MP Simranjit Singh Mann had visited Moosewala's house for his first death anniversary event on March 19. Moosewala's father had accused the government of trying to stop people from attending the programme, including with the Internet suspension. Now, in more bad news for the AAP, Balkaur Singh has said he would be hitting the road for the coming Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypoll, with the focus of his campaign being the “shoddy” investigation in the murder of Moosewala. The bypoll was necessitated by the death of the sitting Congress MP. A Moosa village resident, who calls himself a diehard fan of the late singer, says it was due to Moosewala's murder that the AAP had lost the bypoll from the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat, vacated by its CM Bhagwant Singh Mann. The killing had taken place days before the bypoll. “In the Jalandhar bypoll as well, this issue is going to resonate apart from the law and order situation, development and other issues. One year has passed but the issue is still alive, perhaps this is the reason that the beeline of politicians to Moosa village hasn't stopped,” the resident said.
