M A I N   N E W S

Wounded Bir blames it on liquor mafia
Chitleen K Sethi
Tribune News Service

Mohali, January 18
Voices of dissent within the Congress in Kharar became overtly loud today when senior Congress leader and sitting MLA Bir Devinder Singh was denied the ticket from his constituency by the party high command.

Mr Bir Devinder is now considering ending his three-decade relationship with the Congress and quitting the party to contest as an Independent.

“The liquor and land mafia operating in Kharar wanted my ouster. A conspiracy has been hatched to silence the whistle-blower of the party,” said a very upset Bir Devinder.

Mr Balbir Singh Sidhu, the party’s district president from Mohali, is the nominee for this seat. Even though party president Shamsher Singh Dullo had been supporting Mr Sidhu, the decision came as a shock to Mr Bir Devinder who says he had been assured of a ticket by Mrs Sonia Gandhi herself.

A skilled orator, Mr Bir Devinder Singh had defeated Mr Balbir Singh Sidhu in the 2002 Assembly Elections with a margin of over 1,500 votes when Mr Sidhu, having been denied the ticket had contested as an Independent. Mrs Daljit Kaur Padiala of the SAD had earlier routed Mr Sidhu who was the Congress candidate in 1997 when she won by a margin of over 39,000 votes.

Mr Bir Devinder Singh has received the “Best Parliamentarian Award” for his performance in the Vidhan Sabha. “It is a sad commentary of our times that a person who has been working hard for five years honestly is of no value to the party and can be outmanoeuvred by vested interests,” he said.

“ I am paying for saving shamlat land of villages in Kharar which the land and liquor mafia was eyeing.”

In the past six months, Mr Bir Devinder had mended fences with Mrs Lakhvinder Kaur Garcha, his critic, and former MLA Harnek Gharuan. His supporters plan to meet tomorrow to decide the future course of action. “We feel cheated and let down and will support Mr Bir Devinder Singh,” said a supporter of Mrs Garcha, adding that they would rather support an Independent than Mr Sidhu.

In face of the opposition from his partymen , Mr Sidhu will have to work hard to reach the Vidhan Sabha. Mr Sidhu started campaigning in the constituency almost a year ago when he launched a special drive for school children, distributing sweaters and uniforms.

A local liquor baron, he also played an important role in leading the Congress-supported candidates to victory in the recently held Municipal Council elections in Mohali. He expects unflinching support from them now. Mr Dullo had been accompanying Mr Sidhu in his campaign across the constituency. Interestingly, Mr Dullo himself was defeated by SAD candidate Sukhdev Singh Libra in the 2004 parliamentary elections from Ropar, which constitutes a large part of the Kharar constituency.