RODE (PUNJAB), February 15: In Faridkot constituency, Punjab, a militant hell-hole not so long ago, terrorism seems the last issue for the inhabitants who go to cast their votes tomorrow.As the motley crowd of young and old in this native village of Jarnail Singh Bhindranale debate who is the best candidate to represent them, painful memories of past do not cast any shadow on their talks.
The discussion mainly centres on the prospects of Chief Minister P S Badal's son Sukhbir Singh and his rival Jagmeet Singh brar of the Congress in Faridkot constituency.
"What we are bothered about today is the development of the village, better roads, access to better civic amenities, not dirty politics," says 50-year-old Nathu Ram Cheena who lost a son at the hands of terrorists eight years ago.
"As it is, the village has been stuck in a time-warp for far too long, being the centre of the gun politics. Now that people have seen how important it is to be in the mainstream of development, no body ever refers to thepast," says Amar Singh Chandan, a teacher.
Nachhattar Singh, who spent over 16 years in jail in connection with the murder of Lala Jagat Narain, a Jalandhar-based newspaper baron, in 1981, says he regrets whatever Punjab got through in the recent past. Now out of jail but living here under the hawk-eye of the local police, Nachhattar has appealed to the people to vote for Sukhbir. Otherwise, he keeps himself away from active politics.
"Lalaji was a nice man at the personal level," he claimed in an interview recently, and said, "Lalaji and I were jailed together during the emergency. We shared a common cause and spent many months in the same barrack." "I now want that all that should be forgotten, or at least, should be gotten over."
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
