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Amarinder appears in Ludhiana court

Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

CHANDIGARH: Thousands of Congress workers turned up to receive the former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, who reached Ludhiana on Saturday morning to appear before a city court, which took up the case regarding his alleged involvement in the multi-crore Ludhiana City Centre scandal.

Capt. Singh who was recently appointed as chairman of the Campaign Committee in the Punjab unit of the Congress party was accorded an impressive reception by Congress workers, legislators, former legislators, former MPs and former ministers. The local administration had a tough time handling the crowds at the district court complex where he was scheduled to present himself.

The vantage points of the city, beginning from Sherpur Chowk along the National Highway No.1, were decorated with hoardings, posters, buntings and party flags put up by various leaders who appeared to be in a competition of sorts to express solidarity with Capt. Singh, whose cut-outs and huge portraits dotted the route.

It took more than an hour for Capt. Singh to cover a distance of a few kilometres to reach the court complex. Outside the Mini-secretariat, which houses the District Courts Complex, the party workers organised an impressive show of strength.

At several places Capt. Singh was seen pleading with the workers to excuse him as he was getting late to reach the court. He attended large reception programmes at Fatehgarh Sahib, Mandi Gobindgarh, Sirhind, Khanna, Doraha and Sahnewal. Between Sahnewal and Ludhiana he was made to stop at least a dozen times where the local leaders and workers hugged him, shook hands and showered floral petals.

At Ludhiana, the local District Bar Association accorded a reception to Capt. Singh, who expressed his gratitude to the legal fraternity for the support and cooperation extended to him.

Later talking to reporters, Capt. Singh said that he was overwhelmed by the trust reposed in him by the party command. Handing out an assurance of fulfilling the “big responsibility,” he expressed confidence that the Congress would win all the 13 Lok Sabha seats in Punjab in the forthcoming general elections. Pointing towards the huge crowd of supporters and party workers who had gathered there, Capt Singh remarked, “It gives me more confidence today than ever that we will sweep the Akalis off their ground from across Punjab.” He said that the Akali-BJP government had proved to be a complete failure and people were desperately waiting to vent their anger on them.

Responding to a question about some leaders been seen for the first time in last one and a half year, Capt Singh said, “They are all family members and there is no ill will or mistrust against anyone. What matters is that we are all together today as you are seeing it yourself.”

Several sitting and former MLAs had reached the Ludhiana District Court Complex today. They included Jeet Mohinder Sigh Sidhu, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Makhan Singh, Ishwar Singh Meharban, Gurpreet Singh Kangar, Mangat Rai Bansal, Ajaib Singh Bhatti, Naresh Kataria, Harmohinder Singh Pradhan, Ajit Singh Shan and Joginder Singh Panjgrayan.

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