Punjab Congress marks ‘maun vrat’; Navjot Singh Sidhu skips it

GS Paul
Tribune News Service
Amritsar/Chandigarh, October 11

Congress leaders in Punjab sat on a 'maun vrat' (vow of silence) on Monday to seek the dismissal of Union minister Ajay Mishra in connection with the Lakhimpur Kheri incident in Uttar Pradesh.

The minister's son Ashish Mishra was arrested on Saturday by the UP Police in connection with the October 3 incident wherein eight people, including four farmers, were killed.

He was produced before a court late on Saturday night, which sent him to 14-day judicial custody.

Punjab Congress working president Sukhwinder Singh Danny, MLA Inderbir Singh Bolaria, party's state unit general secretary Yoginder Pal Dhingra along with other Congress workers held the silent protest at Amritsar.

Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, who currently in Jammu and Kashmir to pay a visit to Mata Vaishno Devi in Katra, didn’t attend Punjab Congress unit’s ‘maun vrat’ (vow of silence) programme in Amritsar because of poor weather.

In Amritsar, Congress workers held a programme at the Amritsar Railway Station from 1 to 3 pm, but Sidhu’s marked absence from the event meant dwindling enthusiasm.  As the word got around, Congress leaders began leaving the event.

However, some, such as Sukhwinder Singh Danny Bandala, stayed until the end.

What’s interesting is that the purpose of ‘Maun Vrat’ was defeated several times by the leaders getting up to either attend the calls or welcome leaders who’d just arrived at the site. Some leaders even gave bytes to the media.

MLA North Sunil Dutti claimed Sidhu had told him he could not attend the event because of bad weather. “Still, the party workers staged their silent protest against the lackadaisical approach of the BJP government towards the heinous incident that claimed innocent lives. We demand the immediate removal of the minister and transparent trial of his son who was responsible for this incident, which was the murder of democracy,” he said.

MLA South Inderbir Bolaria said too much was being read into Sidhu’s absence.

“It should not be given a political colour. Due to unavoidable circumstances, he could not come but we all were there on behalf of our party president”, he said.

All the three Amritsar-based cabinet ministers—OP Soni (also Deputy CM), Raj Kumar Verka and Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria and MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla—attended the event.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal meanwhile mocked the Congress, especially Sidhu, saying he should stay silent until the Punjab assembly elections.  

“It shouldn’t be like his previous one at Lakhimpur Kheri where he went on hunger strike post-dinner and broke it even before breakfast time,” he said.

— With PTI