Hundreds of youth from Punjab, wearing yellow turbans symbolic of Shahid Bhagat Singh, on Tuesday joined the rank and file of supporters of Gandhian social activist Anna Hazare at the Ramlila Ground.
Accompanied by comedian Bhagwant Maan and nephews of martyrs during freedom struggle, Rajguru and Sukhdev, the youth came in more than two dozen buses from various parts of Punjab. The nephew of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Abhay Singh Sandhu, and Shaheed Sukhdev’s nephew, Bharat Bhushan Thapar, addressed the public and expressed their support to the cause espoused by Mr Hazare.
Comedian Bhagwant Maan greeted the audience by saying that he has come from the land of martyrs. He praised Anna Hazare for giving government a tough fight and lauded the supporters. Towards the end he sang “Rang de basanti chola” to which public responded with loud cheers. Many among the group were members of Manpreet Badal’s newly-launched political party People’s Party of Punjab.
The youth from rural pockets of Punjab, most of whom are farmers by profession, shouted slogans and expressed commitment for the national cause.
“I have come here to support Anna. We farmers have been bearing the brunt of corruption as thousands of us have committed suicide due to the injustice done to us. We do not get the just price while the multi-nationals who process our grains make billions of dollars out of it,” Manjeet Singh from Uchcha Pind Sanghol near Ludhiana said.