Bathinda:

Hitting out at the ruling AAP in the state and its INDIA partner Congress over the ‘friendly fight’ in the state in the Lok Sabha elections, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Sunday said the grand old party should come clean on whether it was standing with the people of Punjab or supporting the ‘corrupt’ Arvind Kejriwal.

Speaking to ANI on Sunday, SAD MP said, “I call on the Punjab Congress to clear its stand. They should clarify whether they were standing with the people of Punjab or supporting a corrupt (Delhi chief minister and AAP national convenor) Kejriwal.”

Scoffing at the Maha Rally of the AAP and its partners in the INDIA bloc at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday, Kaur said all leaders in the Opposition alliance gathered to pledge support to a leader, who dodged repeated summons by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in connection with the excise policy case before being arrested.

“Despite repeated summons, Arvind Kejriwal did not appear before the ED. The court has refused to grant him bail. His ministers (Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain) have been languishing in jail over the last one-and-a-half years. They indulged in a similar liquor scam in Punjab as well,” Kaur added.

Despite the AAP and the Congress failing to clinch a seat-sharing deal for the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab, she claimed that the two parties are together in the state and the people are being ‘misled’ for the sake of votes.

“The people of Punjab are ready to give them a befitting reply this time,” the SAD lawmaker said.

Also hitting out at the BJP over accepting deserters from rival camps, especially the grand old party, she called them the “new Congress”.

“The BJP is the new Congress. Leaders, who were with the Congress till the other day, switched over to the BJP and tickets to contest the Lok Sabha elections. The SAD, on the other hand, are not raiding rival camps and will fight the polls on its ideology and farmers’ interests,” she added.

Earlier in the day, INDIA leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, NC patriarch Farooq Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, and Jharkhand CM Champai Soren, among others, headlined the mega show of strength for the embattled Kejriwal at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan.

Kejriwal was arrested by the ED on March 21 and is currently in the custody of the central agency till April 1.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Amid an ongoing controversy around singer Shubh, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Friday came in support of the Punjabi-Canadian artist and told him that he “doesn’t need to prove his patriotism”. Singer Shubh was scheduled to perform in India but his tour was cancelled over his alleged support to Khalistani sympathizer. Shubh had shared a distorted map of India on his Instagram handle earlier this year, which omitted the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and the Northeastern states.

“Singer Shubh we stand with you. You don’t need to prove your patriotism because you are a proud son of Punjab and India,” Ms Badal, a former ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said on her official X (formerly Twitter) account.

“Akali Dal appeals to fellow countrymen not to fall prey to conspiracies to label Shubh & others who speak for Punjab as anti-nationals,” the Lok Sabha MP from Punjab’s Bathinda added.

Singer @Shubhworldwide we stand with you. You don’t need to prove your patriotism because you are a proud son of Punjab and #India. @Akali_Dal_ appeals to fellow countrymen not to fall prey to conspiracies to label Shubh & others who speak for #Punjab as anti-nationals.…

— Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) September 22, 2023

Congress comes in support of singer Shubh

On Friday, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring also backed singer Shubh and said that he “strongly oppose labelling of our youngsters, who speak for Punjab as anti-nationals”.

“While we at Punjab Congress strongly oppose the idea of Khalistan & have actively fought our battles against anti-national forces, I strongly oppose labelling of our youngsters like Shubh, who speak for Punjab as anti-nationals. We Punjabis don’t need to give any proof about our nationalism,” Mr Warring posted on X.

While we at @INCPunjab strongly oppose the idea of Khalistan & have actively fought our battles against anti national forces, I strongly oppose labelling of our youngsters like @Shubhworldwide, who speak for Punjab as anti nationals. We Punjabis don’t need to give any proofs…

— Amarinder Singh Raja Warring (@RajaBrar_INC) September 22, 2023

“This propaganda being pushed by certain forces against Punjabis to undermine us is highly condemnable. Malicious attempts to tarnish our youngsters must be repulsed. Jai Hind! Jai Punjab!”, the senior Congress leader added.

Controversy around singer Shubh

The controversy around singer Shubh, who rose to fame with his song ‘Still Rollin’, began on September 19, when boAt, an electronics brand, withdrew its sponsorship from his upcoming India tour.

A day later, his ‘Still Rollin India tour’ was cancelled by BookMyShow after the ticket-booking app faced a boycott call on social media platforms amid simmering tensioners between India and Canada.

The 26-year-old faced the wrath of netizens after he shared a map of India on his Instagram story, which omitted the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and the Northeastern states.

Along with the picture, the singer had written, “Pray for Punjab”.

After backlash, the singer deleted the map and replaced it with a message that read “Pray for Punjab” without any picture.

“Disheartened:” Shubh after India tour cancelled 

Singer Shubh on Thursday expressed his disappointment after his tour was cancelled following allegations of his support for Khalistani sympathizer and said that he was “extremely disheartened”. 

“My intent in resharing that post on my story was only to pray for Punjab as there were reports of electricity and internet shutdowns throughout the state. There was no other thought behind it, and I definitely didn’t intend to hurt anyone’s sentiments,” he said in his Instagram post.

“India is MY country too. I was born here. It is the land of my GURUS and my ANCESTORS, who didn’t even blink an eye to make sacrifices for the freedom of this land, for its glory, and for the family. And Punjab is my soul, Punjab is in my blood. Whatever I am today, I am because of being a Punjabi,” he added.

New Delhi:

Amid an ongoing controversy around singer Shubh, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Friday came in support of the Punjabi-Canadian artist and told him that he “doesn’t need to prove his patriotism”. Singer Shubh was scheduled to perform in India but his tour was cancelled over his alleged support to Khalistani sympathizer. Shubh had shared a distorted map of India on his Instagram handle earlier this year, which omitted the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and the Northeastern states.

“Singer Shubh we stand with you. You don’t need to prove your patriotism because you are a proud son of Punjab and India,” Ms Badal, a former ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said on her official X (formerly Twitter) account.

“Akali Dal appeals to fellow countrymen not to fall prey to conspiracies to label Shubh & others who speak for Punjab as anti-nationals,” the Lok Sabha MP from Punjab’s Bathinda added.

Singer @Shubhworldwide we stand with you. You don’t need to prove your patriotism because you are a proud son of Punjab and #India. @Akali_Dal_ appeals to fellow countrymen not to fall prey to conspiracies to label Shubh & others who speak for #Punjab as anti-nationals.…

— Harsimrat Kaur Badal (@HarsimratBadal_) September 22, 2023

Congress comes in support of singer Shubh

On Friday, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring also backed singer Shubh and said that he “strongly oppose labelling of our youngsters, who speak for Punjab as anti-nationals”.

“While we at Punjab Congress strongly oppose the idea of Khalistan & have actively fought our battles against anti-national forces, I strongly oppose labelling of our youngsters like Shubh, who speak for Punjab as anti-nationals. We Punjabis don’t need to give any proof about our nationalism,” Mr Warring posted on X.

While we at @INCPunjab strongly oppose the idea of Khalistan & have actively fought our battles against anti national forces, I strongly oppose labelling of our youngsters like @Shubhworldwide, who speak for Punjab as anti nationals. We Punjabis don’t need to give any proofs…

— Amarinder Singh Raja Warring (@RajaBrar_INC) September 22, 2023

“This propaganda being pushed by certain forces against Punjabis to undermine us is highly condemnable. Malicious attempts to tarnish our youngsters must be repulsed. Jai Hind! Jai Punjab!”, the senior Congress leader added.

Controversy around singer Shubh

The controversy around singer Shubh, who rose to fame with his song ‘Still Rollin’, began on September 19, when boAt, an electronics brand, withdrew its sponsorship from his upcoming India tour.

A day later, his ‘Still Rollin India tour’ was cancelled by BookMyShow after the ticket-booking app faced a boycott call on social media platforms amid simmering tensions between India and Canada.

The 26-year-old faced the wrath of netizens after he shared a map of India on his Instagram story, which omitted the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, and the Northeastern states. Along with the picture, the singer had written, “Pray for Punjab”.

After backlash, he deleted the map and replaced it with a message that read “Pray for Punjab” without any picture.

“Disheartened:” Singer Shubh after India tour cancelled 

Singer Shubh on Thursday expressed his disappointment after his tour was cancelled following allegations of his support for Khalistani sympathizer and said that he was “extremely disheartened”. 

“My intent in resharing that post on my story was only to pray for Punjab as there were reports of electricity and internet shutdowns throughout the state. There was no other thought behind it, and I definitely didn’t intend to hurt anyone’s sentiments,” he said in his Instagram post.

“India is MY country too. I was born here. It is the land of my GURUS and my ANCESTORS, who didn’t even blink an eye to make sacrifices for the freedom of this land, for its glory, and for the family. And Punjab is my soul, Punjab is in my blood. Whatever I am today, I am because of being a Punjabi,” he added.