Ministers, political leaders visit Isru village, pay tributes to martyr

Punjab Cabinet Ministers Aman Arora and Tarunpreet Singh Sond on Friday paid floral tributes to Shaheed Karnail Singh Isru during a state-level function in his native Isru village, commemorating his martyrdom day.

The martyr had sacrificed his life during the liberation of Goa from the Portuguese rule. They garlanded Isru’s statue and felicitated his nieces Balwinder Kaur, Jaswinder Kaur, Nirinder Kaur and Nirmal Kaur on the occasion.

Addressing the gathering, Arora highlighted the legacy of sacrifice inherited from Sikh Gurus, particularly Guru Arjun Dev and Guru Teg Bahadur, who stood against the Mughal tyranny for humanity’s sake.

Sond highlighted development projects in Isru — an Aam Aadmi Clinic, a library, a new village panchayat home and other initiatives worth Rs 10 crore. He assured that funds would continue to flow for the development of Shaheed Isru’s ancestral village and criticised past administrations for ignoring the sacrifices of martyrs.

Cong leaders recall Shaheed Isru’s sacrifice

Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Partap Singh Bajwa also paid tributes to Shaheed Karnail Singh Isru at a Congress rally in Isru village, reminding the gathering that “Independence is not a one-time gift, it is a responsibility we must guard every single day.” Bajwa recalled that in 1955, Isru gave his life for Goa’s liberation, proving that the fight for justice does not end with the waving of the Tricolour.

During the rally, Congress workers raised slogans echoing the spirit of India’s freedom fighters. Bajwa warned that values for which martyrs such as Isru gave their lives are under severe attack today. “Law and order is in complete collapse — gang wars, targeted killings and drug mafia rule the streets while CM Bhagwant Mann spends more time doing PR instead of protecting residents,” he said.

“Under Congress stalwarts such as Partap Singh Kairon, Punjab saw an era of unmatched progress — from building robust infrastructure to making Punjab the food bowl of India ,” said

Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring gave a clarion call to party workers to be battle ready for the 2027 elections. During the Independence Day event at Issru on Friday, he said people were looking forward to the Congress as they see only hope in the party.

Addressing a political conference organised in memory of Shaheed Isru, Warring said it was his dream to see the Congress return to power in Punjab.

He said the AAP government was discredited and people were eagerly waiting to get rid of it. He congratulated farmers of the state who firmly stood against the land pooling policy, which forced the government to withdraw it.

Warring dispelled the notion that the Congress was divided and every leader and worker was working with each other to see the party winning the 2027 poll.

The PCC president pointed out that senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had exposed Prime Minister Narendra Modi as how the latter’s party was manipulating electoral rolls to win the elections.

Defeat conspiracies made in Delhi: SAD to Punjabis

The SAD appealed to Punjabis to defeat conspiracies made in Delhi to weaken the SAD even as it condemned Giani Harpreet Singh for fronting the conspiracy with the aim of dividing the Panth and weakening its religious institutions.

The political conference, which was held here to commemorate the martyrdom of Shaheed Issru on Friday, was presided over by SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami, who appealed to Punjabis to start a public movement on social media to seek the release of the Bandi Singhs following an observation by the Supreme Court that keeping anyone in jail after the completion of his jail term of 20 years was a violation of the person’s human rights.

Senior leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal appealed to the SAD cadre to beware of the conspiracy to weaken the SAD by using “duplicates” to deceive the party rank and file. He said a section of leaders led by Giani Harpreet Singh were trying to claim that they were the real SAD. “These duplicates should be rejected immediately,” he added.

Senior leader Daljit Singh Cheema said the “Vakhra Chulha” established by Giani Harpreet had exposed the latter’s real intentions. “The very fact that he has formed a new establishment goes back on his own ‘hukamnama’ of December 2 forbidding the same”. He said after becoming a tool of the Delhi Darbar, Giani Harpreet was now threatening to take over the SGPC as well as the SAD head office and its symbol. “I want to tell Giani Harpreet that the Panth has never succumbed to threats earlier and never will”.