‘Bunch of fake revolutionaries': Arora under Oppn fire for ‘not knowing Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha'
In the rup-up to Ludhiana West by-election slated for June 19, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) candidate-cum-Rajya Sabha member Sanjeev Arora came under fire from the Opposition parties Sunday for 'not knowing' Ghadar movement hero and revolutionary freedom fighter Shaheed Kartar Singh Sabha.
AAP had organized a public meeting Saturday in Ludhiana's Sarabha Nagar, an upscale residential cum commercial hub named after the Ghadar revolutionary. The shopkeepers in the colony have been demanding for a long time that their market should also be renamed after Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha. The meeting was also attended by CM Bhagwant Mann.
However, in major embarrassment for AAP, Arora, during his address, failed to name the late revolutionary who was hanged by the British when he was just 19. Sarabha was the idol of Bhagat Singh.
During the address, a video of which went viral on social media, Arora: 'People are demanding that the market here should be named after Shaheed Sarabha Singh..' As he fails to recall the full name and looks at others for cue, he is corrected and told that the name is Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha.
Arora says: 'I am sure CM saab will announce it soon and Sarabha's statue has already been ordered. It will be installed soon.'
Launching a scathing attack on Mann and Arora, Congress's senior MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira wrote on X: 'I stand vindicated on my charge that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is a bunch of fake revolutionaries! Below AAP candidate for Ludhiana bypoll Sanjeev Arora doesn't know who Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha is! Leaders like Arvind Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann are only misusing the names of our martyrs and have nothing to do with their ideology.'
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) also launched an attack on Arora.
'In the presence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and the entire high command, Sanjeev Arora's disrespect towards Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha during his election campaign is extremely shameful and condemnable,' said Harjinder Singh Bobby Garcha, president, Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha Foundation and chief spokesperson, SAD.
'A candidate brought in by AAP from Gurgaon has insulted our martyr… Arora did not even remember the name of Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha. Someone who doesn't even know the names of our martyrs cannot safeguard their legacy. How can such a person work for the welfare of Punjab and Punjabi culture?,' said Garcha.
He warned that if Arora does not apologize soon, the Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha Foundation will not only oppose the election campaign but will also stage a protest against him.
Garcha stated that they want to inform the city residents and the people of the state that 'AAP has brought in outsiders who have no knowledge of Punjab's culture or martyrs, and they don't even understand our Punjabi heritage'.
'Instead, the Aam Aadmi Party has fielded candidates in Punjab's electoral arena who mock Punjab and Punjabi culture, and it is essential to expose their true nature,' said Garcha.
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