KHEMKARAN (TARN TARAN), August 9: Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring launched the five day ‘Tiranga Yatra’ to mark the 75 years of Independence of the country from here today.
The programme was organized by senior party leader and former MLA Sukhpal Singh Bhullar.
The Punjab Congress will cover about 2000 kms in all, during a five-day yatra from today to August 14. All senior leaders have been assigned 75 kms each to be covered during the five days beginning today.
It also coincided with the August Kranti Divas, as it was on this day in 1942 that the Congress had launched the ‘Quit India Movement’ which eventually led the country to freedom after five years.
Before starting the ‘Tiranga Yatra’, Warring paid obeisance at the historic Gurdwara Janam Sathan Baba Deep Singh. After praying for peace and progress of the state and the country, he led the yatra of thousands of Congress workers who were sporting national tricolor across different places.
He later paid obeisance at Gurdwara Baba Bakala.
During the five day ‘Tiranga Yatra’, the Punjab Congress president will cover 75 kilometers. Other party leaders are also leading similar yatras across the state in all the 117 constituencies. During the five days, the Congress leaders and workers will cover about 2000 kilometers of Tiranga Yatra.
Speaking before embarking upon the Yatra, Warring said, the Congress party, unlike the Bharatiya Janata Party or any other political party in the country, had a great and glorious history of sacrifice for the national tricolor. He pointed out, it was on this day, 80 years ago on August 9, 1942, the young Congress leader Aruna Asif Ali took the lead to unfurl the tricolor after the entire Congress leadership had been jailed by the British.
Taking a dig at the BJP’s claims over nationalism, the PCC president said, the BJP has a lot to learn from the Congress on the issue of nationalism. “They are no comparison to us when it comes to watching and safeguarding the national interest and our leaders have laid down their lives for nationalism, both before and after the independence of the country”, he pointed out.
He condemned all those forces, which were trying to again vitiate the peaceful atmosphere of the state by resorting to divisive tactics, which have otherwise already been rejected by the Punjabis time and again. He said, all those opposed to hoisting and unfurling of the national flag were not friends of Punjab but were playing in the hands of the enemies of Punjab and Punjabis.
The PCC president assured that the Congress party and its leaders will never hesitate in giving their life and blood for safeguarding the unity and the integrity of the country and to ensure communal harmony and brotherhood in the state.
“We have done it in the past and we will not hesitate in the future either to safeguard peace, harmony, brotherhood and unity and integrity of the country”, he asserted.
PCC president was accompanied by former minister Gurkirat Singh Kotli, former MLAs Sukhpal Bhullar, Dr Dharamveer Agnihotri, Lakhvir Singh Lakha, SS Bhalaipur, Rajbir Bhullar, Sumit Singh, Raja Gill and others.
