Workers elated as AAP bags Rure Asal sarpanch seat

“We have taught oppressing Congress workers a lesson through ballot paper,” say supporters of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Rure Asal village of the district. They say that during the electioneering process, members of the ruling party left “no stone unturned to ensure the victory of their candidate in the village, but voters stood up to repressive tactics” during the recently concluded panchayat elections.

AAP-backed Paramjit Kaur has been elected sarpanch of Rure Asal village. She defeated her nearest rival who owed his allegiance to the Congress by a margin of 278 votes. Out of the 1454 votes, 1,127 were polled during the election. Party workers say that it was only Rure Asal village in the district that chose a candidate backed by AAP.

Sarwan Singh, a youth leader, was heading the AAP poll campaign in association with other activists in the village. He says that AAP workers have been booked in two criminal cases in less than one year. “Despite that, we didn’t give way. On the day of polling, a clash took place in the village, which was a pre-planned conspiracy,” allege AAP workers.

Sarpanch Paramjit Kaur said her supporters, along  with her family members, were under constant threat as the rival group  members had been issuing threats. 

Same was the scenario during the zila parishad and block samiti elections when Rajinder Kaur, backed by the AAP, defeated the Congress candidate for block samiti position by a margin of 58 votes. Rajinder Kaur is the only block samiti member in the district backed by the AAP supporters. 

Stray animal menace

Residents of Chaunk Nange Pairan Wala are being inconvenienced due to the rampant menace of stray animals. Residents say stray animals keep on wandering hither and thither and they have caused a number of road mishaps in the area in the past three years. Cattle and dogs can be seen sitting on roads, much to the chagrin of commuters as they cause traffic jams besides mishaps. Also, it has been seen that stray bulls often start fighting with one another during which they don’t hesitate to attack commuters. Dalwinder Singh Khalsa, Lakha Singh and other residents said that they had brought the problem to the notice of the municipal authorities, but to no avail. They said that the dung of such animals make roads slippery which too trouble two-wheeler riders. They allege that the Manmohan Singh Randhawa,  Executive Officer, Municipal Council, had assured that stray animals would be taken to some gaushala, but nothing has been done till date.