After Gokul Setia joins Congress, his PU days photos with gangster Goldy Brar go viral on social media
Shortly after Gokul Setia, grandson of former Cabinet minister of Haryana Lachhman Das Arora, joined the Congress in New Delhi today, his old photos from his college days began circulating on social media, causing sensation in Sirsa. In the photos, Setia is seen with notorious gangster Goldy Brar. These pictures are from days when Goldy and other people were studying in Panjab University, Chandigarh.
Setia took to social media to clarify his stand. He accused incumbent MLA of Sirsa Gopal Kanda of being instrumental behind the circulation of the photos. He claimed that Kanda’s TV channel was sensationalising the photos, which were 10 to 15 years’ old. He said that people seen in the pictures had since taken various paths — some had become IAS officers, others went abroad, some joined government jobs while a few turned to crime. Setia questioned why it mattered now what his college mates were doing years later.
Setia alleged that he had received extortion threats from a rival gang of Goldy Brar and accused Kanda’s associates of being involved with it. He said that these photos were being circulated as part of a larger conspiracy to tarnish his image.
To counter the narrative, Setia shared an old photo showing him, Goldy Brar and other students standing with former Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. He said that he was not responsible for what choices someone had made in his life.
Setia questioned why these photos were not circulated when he fought the 2019 elections. He argued that his opponents were feeling threatened by his decision to join the Congress. He challenged Gopal Kanda saying the people of Sirsa would deliver a decisive blow to him through their votes in the elections.
Meanwhile, Kanda said that Setia’s claims and accusations were false. He alleged that a local Congress leader, who is seeking the party ticket, was behind the sharing of Setia’s photos with the Congress high command and the media. He insisted he didn’t engage in such tactics and the whole segment knows this.
Kanda said that the Congress had always stood third in the elections against him and would taste defeat this time as well. He criticised Setia for making “false” accusations against him on Facebook, and he had always focused on development in Sirsa and achieved it as well. He added that the people of Sirsa supported him wholeheartedly.
