Punjab Diary: Politicians visit temples to woo Hindu voters

Abohar: Is AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal following in SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal’s footsteps? This million-dollar question is being asked by SAD workers here who accompanied Sukhbir on his maiden visit to Salasar Dham in Churu, Rajasthan, on Tuesday. Three days later, the Delhi CM along with his wife offered prayers at the shrine on their wedding anniversary. SAD workers recall how four days after Sukhbir’s visit to Devi Talab Mandir in Jalandhar last month, Kejriwal had paid obeisance at the same temple. Whether it a coincidence or part of a well-thought-out strategy to woo Hindu voters ahead of the Assembly elections in Punjab is anybody’s guess.

Awaiting red-letter day

Batala: The talk of elevating the sub-divisional town of Batala into a full-fledged district was recently given a quiet burial. RS MP Partap Singh Bajwa, however, has raked up the issue again. In September, he had written to then CM Capt Amarinder Singh. However, after the change of guard, the matter was as good as done and dusted. The MP has now written to CM Charanjit Channi. Dr Satnam Singh Nijjar, chairman of the Gurdaspur Planning Board, says it will be a red-letter day for the city if the Punjab Government confers the district status on it on November 19, the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. Indeed, the city needs a big dose of divine intervention to make the cut. Dy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and his Cabinet colleague TPS Bajwa, too, have been making efforts for the cause. So has three-time former MLA Ashwani Sekhri.

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