Badals turn Maghi mela into political jambooree, Cong into slugfest :- Sikh Press

CHANDIGARH: Muktsar\'s Maghi Mela, holy to the Sikh sangat worldwide and an open arena for flinging politically motivated allegations for politicians of all hues, saw Parkash Singh Badal-Sukhbir Badal duo pulling out all stops to bring on teeming crowds and use the occasion to seek vote for rightwing Hindutva hardcore RSS-BJP while Congressmen supporters of two rival aspirants for Lok Sabha ticket indulged in an ugly public scuffle.

Instead of underlining the great message of the self-sacrificing 40 Sikh Muktas, Parkash Singh Badal expressed confidence that L K Advani, who has claimed some credit in his book for pressurising then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for Operation Bluestar, will be the country\'s next Prime Minister.

Badal shared the stage with BJP Cabinet Minister Manoranjan Kalia who behaves like a Deputy CM and whose photograph appears in most government advertisements completely unconnected with his portfolio.

Congressmen proved no better as media and people searched for the elusive sign of unity in the ranks of leaders but Amarinder Singh and his camp followers gave the occasion a miss and party legislators\' group leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal did not help when she explained that the former CM was busy preparing for some legal case.

Malwa strongman of the Congress, Jagmeet Singh Brar spoke well but his speech was outshined by the rowdy enthusiasm of his supporters who clashed with supporters of Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi. Both Brar and Sodhi are aspiring for the Lok Sabha ticket from Ferozepur.

Neither the Akalis had anything concrete or inspiring to say nor the main Opposition was able to underline any contending thought in politics. The boredom of speeches was a replica of whathad happened at the Fatehgarh Sahib Jor Mela just a few days back.

As if people\'s patience was stillto be tested, Badal urged the crowds to be more patient and give the government some time to put things in order. Manpreet Singh Badal was the only one who narrated pithy tales of corrupt politicians and bureaucrats, regaling the audience with some mirth but making a point that most Akalis would not have missed.

Surprising was the innocence of Badal as he made the claim that the \"people of Punjab are committed to the Akali leadership not because of any promises like jobs or subsidies, but the masses elected us back to power because of their commitment to the Akali ideology.\"

SGPC chief Avtar Singh also addressed the congregation.

At the Congress congregation, Brar and Bhattal accused the Akali-BJP government of spreading a "reign of terror and targeting the innocent people". Such generalised allegations are par for the course in Punjab and the words bandied about are still \"zulam\", \"hankaar\", \"badla\" etc, a remnant of politics discarded by the civilised world decades earlier.

14 January 2009

Sikh Press.
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