Shiv Sena members pay tributes to Prof Ramakant Jalota, Veer Vinod Gupta

Phagwara, June 19

On the 36th death anniversary of late Prof Ramakant Jalota, president of Shiv Sena Punjab, and Veer Vinod Gupta, hundreds of activists of various Hindu organisations, including Shiv Sena paid tributes to them.

A havan was also organised at the local Shri Hanuman Garhi Temple on Wednesday.

Both Shiv Sena leaders were assassinated by terrorists in 1988. The

leaders gave their lives for the unity and integrity of Punjab.

Shiv Sena city president Ankur Bedi, senior state vice-president Inderjit Karwal, Rajesh Palta, state vice-president Ravi Dutt, state spokesperson Vipan Sharma and other speakers paid floral tributes to the portraits of the two martyrs and honoured their sacrifices.

They emphasised that it was the valour and unity of such great patriots and the strength of the Hindu-Sikh unity that helped Punjab overcome the dark era of terrorism. The speakers called for citizens to fulfil their national duties and for governments to take a firm stance against terrorism to prevent a recurrence of such circumstances.

Inderjit Karwal said attempts to revive terrorism or promote the demand for Khalistan would never succeed.

He labelled those who gamble with the nation and religion for political gains as traitors and urged vigilance against them. Rajesh Palta and others appealed to the youth to renounce all forms of substance abuse and contribute significantly to the building of a new India.

The event concluded with the distribution of sweetened water and a langar.

Among those present were Rakesh Bansal, Rajneesh Pasricha, Yogesh Prabhakar, Narinder Nindi, Harish Mishra, Kamal Arora, Sunil Jalota, Dinesh Bansal, Jimmy Karwal, Rajneesh Soni, Inderjit Kalra, Vinay Kashyap, Billa, Vijay, Manik Chand, Shamsher Bharti, Deenbandhu Pandey, Aman Basra, Hani Bheem, Aman Kala, Rajat Arora, Pankaj, Ashwani Sharma and Babbi Goswami.