By Jaideep Sarin, IANS
Chandigarh : Thanks to a plethora of uninvited guests, chaos reigned as a two-day meet for non-resident Indians called by the Punjab government got underway here Saturday.
Supposed to be a strictly-by-invitation event that would enable NRIs to mingle with the state’s top political leadership, the meet degenerated into a no-standing-room affair.
Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, his son and Akali Dal working president Sukhbir Singh Badal, ministers and scores of bureaucrats were present at the event for which only 200 NRIs had been invited to the Taj Hotel here, according to Badal junior.
But each NRI and each politician got his friends and supporters along, so that there were 600-800 people squashed into the hotel’s conference hall.
Prominent NRIs from Punjab, including New York-based businessman Sant Singh Chatwal, former British Columbia premier Ujjal Dosanjh, and Canadian and European MPs were present. But the “professional and business-like agenda” promised by Sukhbir Badal was not.
“We were told that the guests would number around 250. But now they are over 550. We have the back up to cater to them with food and other things but there is not enough space for people to sit or stand. We are trying our best,” a senior official at the hotel told IANS.
Badal’s political adviser Daljeet Singh Cheema himself laughed at the rush, saying: “It’s like a Punjabi mela (fair).”
The hotel had originally allocated places to each delegate, but it soon turned out to be a free-for-all, leaving several guests standing while others were seen sharing chairs.
In the midst of all this, Sukhbir Badal – who remained centre stage through the event despite his chief minister father and other top leaders being present – made a power point presentation of Punjab’s future vision.
From a state plagued by constant electricity shortage, Badal junior talked of making Punjab a power surplus state in three years. He held that all previous state governments were sleeping on issues concerning NRIs, though his father had headed some of these governments.
The chief minister himself, while listening to suggestions and grievances of the NRIs present, kept asking them to give their mobile numbers and offered to give those of his ministers and bureaucrats to solve their problems. “You can come to my residence or call for an appointment. I will give you an appointment as per your convenience,” the chief minister was heard announcing.
The focus of the event will shift to Jalandhar Sunday where more NRIs are expected to participate on the second day of the meet. Jalandhar, 150 km from here, is at the heart of Punjab’s Doaba belt – the land between Sutlej and Beas rivers. This is the area from which the maximum immigration to western countries has taken place in the last seven decades.