Sikh bodies seek support for SP-Cong

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, February 13

About 25 Sikh organisations have appealed to the community to vote for the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance in the Uttar Pradesh elections.

“In a first, the SP government appointed a Sikh, Balwant Singh Ramoowalia, as a Cabinet-rank minister. He is accessible and has resolved many issues of the community,” states the resolution signed by the presidents of 25 gurdwaras and Sikh-controlled institutions. It was handed over to the minister this evening.

“The Sikhs in Canada showed political wisdom in 2015 by voting for the Liberal Party. Of the 16 Sikh MPs there, four became Cabinet ministers. Learning from that experience, we appeal to the Sikhs in UP to vote for the alliance so that the community can uphold its distinct identity and stake a claim to political power,” the resolution said.

According to Ramoowalia, about 35 of the 67 constituencies going to the polls in the second phase on February 15 have a sizeable Sikh population.