Manpreet stickers solicit support

Manpreet stickers solicit support
Rajay Deep
Tribune News Service

Bathinda, November 13

The stirring of the political pot in Punjab was all too obvious today in Bathinda and Gidderbaha with excitement being palpable for the much awaited Amritsar rally of Manpreet Singh Badal, slated for Sunday. The event itself has all the makings of a political pot-boiler.
Giving an impression of the election days, a number of vehicles, including private buses and swanky SUVs were seen plying on the roads today, with Manpreet’s stickers pasted on the windshields and the rear of the vehicles.
The colourful stickers (in round shape) carry a picture of Manpreet with a message to the masses to join him at Amritsar on November 14 and urges them to help the state get rid of a number of evils bedeviling it.
Without bothering about the fallout, a number of school and college students had also pasted the stickers on the number plates of their two-wheelers. When asked, one of them said, “I have pasted it to give my bike a different look from the others. It is not just me who has a craze for these stickers but many others have it. It is because of this that people give a second look to the rear side of my bike.”
However, the driver of a bus plying with four such stickers at its rear in Bathinda, said, “It was pasted by Manpreet’s supporters as they have hired the vehicle to reach Amritsar late this evening.”
Speaking over the phone, of Manpreet’s brother-in-law, Jaijeet Singh Jojo, who was looking after Manpreet’s home turf—Gidderbaha assembly constituency, said, “We have got the stickers printed in two lots of 25,000 each. Initially, we felt that the stickers would were much more than required but as more and more people are approaching us for these stickers, it seems as we will run short of them.”
Besides stickers, Manpreet’s supporters have reportedly prepared about 50,000 yellow bands, meant for tying on the wrists and the turbans to give them different sense of identity.
The colour of bands was selected, with an attempt to somehow link it with Shaheed Bhagat Singh, as Manpreet is raising issues related to his ideology. “We have packed the bands in two different sizes of packets—six units for people travelling in cars/jeeps and 60 units for people moving in buses,” said Jojo.
When asked about the response of people in Gidderbaha, Jojo claimed that people were very excited as they had hired dozens of buses and cars on their own.
“It was surprising. When we visited a slum area, people there, who generally ask us to make transportation arrangements to attend the political conference at Muktsar Mela, refused to take a single penny and instead informed us that they had pooled in and hired four buses to reach for the Amritsar rally,” claimed Jojo.
Later, it was informed that to avoid any untoward incident, vehicles carrying Manpreet’s supporters had started leaving from Gidderbaha and Bathinda this evening.