Lok Sabha election: In this one-time militancy hotbed, PDA candidate Khalra raking up ’84, extra-judicial killings

The Operation Bluestar, the anti-Sikh riots and extra-judicial killings in the 1980s and early 1990s are a recurring theme in the poll speeches of Paramjit Kaur Khalra, the Punjab Democratic Alliance (PDA) nominee from the Khadoor Sahib parliamentary seat, a one-time hotbed of militancy.

“I want to present the side of the quam (community) to the world as how our people were massacred in Punjab during the nineties. The only democratic way to present our side is by securing a seat in Parliament. We don’t want killing of Sikhs to be forgotten,” this is how Khalra, widow of slain human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, usually concludes her speeches at rallies these days.

The 65-year-old, who is contesting on the ticket of Punjab Ekta Party (PEP) under PDA’s banner, along with leaders and workers of her outfit and other alliance members — Lok Insaaf Party (LIP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), CPI, RMPI — leaves her house at Amritsar’s Kabir Park locality little before 8am to address the meetings. The fleet of 4-5 SUVs moves from village to village in the constituency. Khalra is assisted by a turbaned girl, a relative of her with four-five young PEP members permanently deputed for the campaign.

She starts her speeches with the post-Partition events such as “declaring of Sikhs as a criminal community” besides claims of “depriving them of a territory where they could feel free” and then coming to Punjab’s over-a-decade-old troubled phase starting in the eighties. She makes it a point to blame both the Congress and the Akalis for the army operation at the Golden Temple. “It was the Akalis who then wrote to the Centre to carry out the attack on the shrine so that they could grab power in the state,” she tells the local residents.

Also, she reminds the people of her husband’s contribution in uncovering human rights violations. Then she raises issues like drugs, unemployment, poor state health care and education and agrarian crisis.

“She addresses an average six poll meetings in a day,” says advocate Jagdeep Singh, an activist of Khalra Mission Organisation, the human rights body headed by Khalra.

A Hindu youth part of her campaign

A Hindu youth, Parveen Kumar, whose elder brother Gulshan Kumar the police allegedly took along in 1993, is among the family members of alleged victims of police atrocities taking part in her campaign. Gulshan went missing thereafter.

Harmandeep Singh Sarhali, another functionary of the Khalra Mission, said, “There are so many victims of police excesses in Tarn Taran district who are part of Khalra’s campaign.”

Since her husband was active in Tarn Taran and Amritsar districts, many people know her.

‘Militants’ fight for self-respect’

At Sakhira village, 10km from Tarn Taran town, that according to former SAD (Amritsar) leader Jarnail Singh Sakhira produced 42 militants, Khalra termed their (militants’) act as a “fight for self-respect”. Sarhali says the village has 21 families whose members disappeared due to one or other form of extra-judicial killings.

When asked, the PDA nominee says, “My party may not have proper organisational muscle as other mainstream parties have, but the issues we are raising have a wider resonance. Where were the cadres of SAD when it was reduced to only 15 seats in last assembly elections?”

PEP campaigner Lambi turns crowd-puller

At the poll gatherings organized in support of Khalra, Navjot Kaur Lambi, the young campaigner of Punjab Ekta Party (PEP), is becoming a crowd-puller.

A good orator, Lambi had joined the Aaam Aadmi Party (AAP) but later switched sides to PEP.

On Monday, she addressed gatherings for Khalra throughout the day. The residents of villages thronged the venue of her rallied to listen to her speeches.