Moga, October 2
After flexing his muscles for 37 years as a super cop, former Director General of Police, Punjab, Paramdeep Singh Gill started testing his political prowess today at his home town Moga. Two days after his retirement from the police, Gill, on Sunday, began his political innings.

Shedding ‘khaki’ and donning the usual white political dress, Gill pulled out all strings to make a massive show of political strength in the area — meeting people, listening their grievances and assuring fast solutions — in his road show here.

The gathering of over 5,000 persons from many adjoining villages of the Moga Assembly constituency and a cavalcade of over 200 vehicles, escorted by over 200 policemen, were part of the political show.

But opposition within the local Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) ranks to the DGP’s plans was conspicuous as most senior leaders of the area preferred to stay away giving lame excuses like “I’m out of town”.

Reaching Moga at around 12.30 pm after meeting select supporters in a room at a private hospital, the former DGP rode through the town in an open Jeep followed by a cavalcade of vehicles carrying his supporters.

As a result, traffic on the 2-km stretch of the Ludhiana-Moga-Ferozepur Road remained highly chaotic for the next three hours.

Gill was uninhibited in singing paeans of the Punjab CM and Deputy CM about their visions for the state. But when asked about him contesting the next Assembly elections from the Moga seat, Gill evaded a direct reply saying, “I just want to serve Punjab. I am yet to take a decision about contesting elections,” he said.

Led by ‘dholis’, Gill’s show went over the Moga-Ludhiana Road, Main Joginder Singh Chowk, Main Bazar Road and other inner markets of the city and concluded at a gurdwara near his house. Most of his supporters were local panchs, sarpanchs and villagers of the Moga Assembly seat.

The former DGP was highly defensive about his appointment as an adviser to the Punjab Home and Justice Department. “I’m not taking even a single penny for this service,” he said, countering the political bashing on his new appointment.