Eye on Himachal Pradesh poll, PM Modi visits Beas

Amritsar, November 5

Days before the conducting of the Assembly poll in Himachal Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to the Radha Soami Satsang Beas headquarters at Beas, 43 km from here, on Saturday. The sect has a large number of followers in different pockets of the hill state.

His visit follows a day after self-styled Hindu leader Sudhir Kumar Suri was killed in Amritsar. The incident had prompted the state police to increase security vigil. State DGP Gaurav Yadav was also present inside the dera.

Amidst tight security, Modi held a closed-door meeting with sect head Baba Gurinder Singh Dhillon for about 30 minutes. As per the sect’s policy, no mediaperson was allowed to enter the dera for coverage.

Though details of the discussion between the two were not known, reliable sources said the meeting was held in view of the elections to the Himachal Vidhan Sabha. The PM visited a vast langar hall of the dera where a large number of women volunteers were cooking meals. He directly interacted with the congregation.

The sources said sect chief Gurinder Singh Dhillon briefed the PM on various facilities and services provided to those visiting the dera. There is also a big library in the dera. From the Adampur airport, the helicopter carrying the PM landed at the airstrip in the dera at 11.10 am where the sect head received him. The PM departed from Dera Beas at 12.05 pm.

State Cabinet ministers Brahm Shankar Jimpa, Harbhajan Singh ETO, BJP leader and former MLA Manjit Singh, BJP leader Amarjit Singh Tikka and others were present on the occasion.

Meanwhile, members of the Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee burnt effigies of PM Modi at different places to oppose his visit to Punjab. Their leaders alleged that they were against the pro-corporate and anti-farmer policies of the Modi-led Union Government.

Farmers burn PM’s effigy

• Farmers under the banner of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee (KMSC), Punjab, held a protest against PM Narendra Modi’s visit to Dera Beas in Amritsar on Saturday
• They organised protests and burn effigies of PM Modi at different places in the district
• Satnam Singh Manochahal, district president of the KMSC, said a large number of union workers gathered on National Highway No. 54 near Piddi village and organised a rally and burnt PM Modi’s effigy
• They alleged their six major demands were accepted by the Centre at that time, but nothing had been acceded till date
• The farmers also organised protests in Chabal, Patti, Sarhali, Khadoor Sahib and other places in the district. They also raised slogans seeking fulfilment of demands