Punjab Diary: Sukhbir Badal and Manpreet - united yet divided

Muktsar: After the Jalandhar bypoll, Sukhbir Badal and Manpreet Badal were again together at their Badal village residences here. Manpreet had visited Sukhbir’s residence along with BJP leaders who had come to offer condolences on the demise of former CM Parkash Singh Badal. Later, Sukhbir visited Manpreet’s residence and the duo planted a sapling in the memory of Badal. This sapling is planted next to another one which Manpreet had planted in 2020 at the spot where the ashes of his father Gurdas Badal had been buried.

Jathedar ‘trolled’

Amritsar: Among the high profile guests who attended the engagement ceremony of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and film actor Parineeti Chopra, it was Akal Takht officiating Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh’s unexpected attendance that caught the limelight. Though it was not an offence or wrong, the Jathedar was trolled on social media. SAD leader Virsa Singh Valtoha said, “Respected Jathedar Sahib! A humble Sikh like me got hurt today.” It was argued that the normal practice was that the couple tying the knot visited Akal Takht to seek blessings. He also had to face the ‘wrath’ of Punjabis as it was the AAP government which had imposed NSA on Sikh youths recently.

Affidavits an uphill task

Amritsar: People in rural areas trying to get affidavits signed by tehsildars are a harried lot as most of the officers have been given multiple charges. In most cases, the officers are available at a particular office only once a week. Residents have demanded that the procedure for making of these affidavits be simplified. The state government had earlier done away with the requirement of affidavits for various services, but in many cases, offices insist on an affidavit.

VB back on toes

Gurdaspur: Vigilance sleuths had in recent past entered a state of inertia as far as cases pertaining to some top politicians were concerned. However, on Saturday, minutes after AAP candidate Sushil Rinku won the Jalandhar bypoll, the CMO sent out strict instructions to officers “not to delay pending cases anymore”. On the hit-list are two Congress leaders, one a former Deputy CM and the other a two-time MLA from Majha. Officers have now been told to deliver results within 30 days. “We have been asked to prepare their files or even arrest them by mid-June,” said a top sleuth.

Meme on ‘outsiders’

Jalandhar: The reply by two AAP ‘outsiders’ on the day of polling of Jalandhar Lok Sabha byelection when they were caught by Congress MLA Vikramjit Chaudhary has become a running joke in political circles. On why they had come from Bathinda to Phillaur, the duo had replied that they wanted to purchase seeds. A video of the incident went viral, with people commenting that Jalandhar was famous for potato seeds and this was not the season for sowing potato. Within days, people shot memes and shared them on social media. But after the AAP candidate won the bypoll, the party’s social media handlers put up a message, “We had come to Jalandhar not to purchase the seeds but to sow them.”

Contributed by GS Paul, Archit Watts, Manmeet, Ravi Dhaliwal and Deepkamal Kaur

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