Villagers cite drugs, no action in desecration cases as reason for wholesale support to Amritpal

Tara Singh and Sur Singh, the former in his 50s and the latter in his late 30s, were among the elder participants of the roadshow. Tara Singh was not amused by the question on how Amritpal was being described in many villages of the majha region as ‘agencian da banda’ (agent of intelligence agencies) till just a year back and what had brought around a change in his popularity.

“I never heard anyone call him a man of agencies. For us he has always been a man who has tried to wean the youth away from drug addiction and who made the youth partake of the ‘Amrit’ (get baptised as Sikh),” he said bristling with indignation.

The question of Amritpal Singh being labelled a Khalistani and the attack on Ajnala police station in February 2023 by his supporters led by him also made the duo uncomfortable. But Satpal Singh emphatically says that there is no question of any Khalistan demand and that the Ajnala incident should not have taken place. But he insists that Amritpal is only helping the youth from the drug menace.

In Boparai village, next to SAD candidate Virsa Singh Valtoha’s stronghold, Valtoha, villagers say he will fare poorly in the contest against Amritpal Singh.

“He will come third or fourth. Akalis are to be blamed for Bargari (where sacrilege first took place in 2015). Guru Maharaj ji di be-adani hoyi koi action nayi hoya, do munde marwaye. Virsa hee enna da bhatta bithayega ethe. Apni galtiyan karke Akali khatam hoye (Akalis are to be blamed for no action in sacrilege cases, killing of two youth in police firing, Virsa will finish the Akalis, the Akalis are to be blamed for their poor state),” says Harjinder Singh.

When asked how could a young man suddenly come from Dubai and get popular in Punjab in a short span of time to the point where he is fighting elections as a popular choice, Harjinder gets annoyed.

“What wrong has he done? Did he send people to Pakistan or get someone from there to India? He left his work in Dubai and came here because he saw the problem of drugs in Punjab. He did not even throw a stick at a dog and they imposed NSA on him. That Lawrence Bishnoi on the other hand enjoys police protection. A person who killed a singer like Moosewala,” he says.

Harjinder and his fellow villagers, Sukhdev Singh and Ranjit singh say the moot issue is not Khalistan but the open sale of drugs in Punjab and no action taken by the AAP government against those guilty of sacrilege.

“People of Punjab cannot be fooled any longer. It is not about Khalistan. What is Khalistan by the way? It is a place where Sikhs can live and earn their living. We are already doing that here. We are happy in India. But we are not happy with the rampant drug sales and desecration of Guru Granth Sahib. They say mentally disturbed people do this. Why don’t they do this in a temple or a mosque? Why only Gurdwaras,” says Sukhdev Singh.

The trio says AAP promised action against drugs and desecration accused before coming to power but it has done neither. “We gave them votes because we wanted a third alternative. Now we have chosen Amritpal. Let him become an MP and we will see what he does in Parliament. Let him form his own party,” says Ranjit.

As more villagers gather hearing the heated comments of the three, the topic turns towards PM Narendra Modi’s reach out to Sikhs during recent rallies. “When Sikhs give langars in Covid at the risk of their lives they are good but if they ask for their rights then they are Khalistanis? What is this? Modi wears a turban and goes to Gurdwara but it is his party’s government in Haryana that killed a youth on the Haryana border and fired tear gas shells on the bodies of farmers,” says Harjinder.

Some distance away, at a crossroads near village Chabal, Phulwinder Singh, a veterinary service provider who carries the moniker ‘Doctor’ is less aggressive in his support for Amritpal but equally emphatic.

Busy organising langar, he says Amritpal’s anti-drugs drive has won him widespread support. “Every house in our villages has lost a man to drugs. People are fed up. He launched the ‘amrit sanchar’ drive. Jailing him has made him even more popular, he says”.

“If a mother’s only son is in the Army and he dies in battle, then at least there is a consolation that he died for a worthy cause. When that only son dies due to drug addiction what is left for that mother,” he says.