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Onkar Singh in Ludhiana
When bade mian Amitabh Bachchan enters the fray, can chotte mian Govinda be far behind?
While the Big B is busy enthralling the Uttar Pradesh crowd, the master of jhatkas has taken it upon himself to propel the Congress party forward in Punjab.
Govinda was in Ludhiana and Bhawanigarh in Sangrur district on February 10. And the crowd was in for a double treat when Preity Zinta also joined Govinda on stage.
While Preity Zinta made it clear that she had come to campaign for personal friend Arvind Khanna, Congress candidate from Bhawanipur, Govinda made no secret of associating himself with the Congress party.
"I have come here to Punjab on the orders of Sonia Gandhi," Govinda told the audience.
Praising Sonia Gandhi, Govinda likened her to Goddess Durga.
"Under the Indian culture when a woman gets married to an Indian then she adopts the religion of her husband. She is the bahu (daughter-in-law) of the house and when the bahu takes to the street to fight for justice then she become the daughter of the house. I hope you would all vote for the Congress candidates and ensure that a new government is in place in Punjab to give you better administration," Govinda said.
For an hour and a half Govinda and his troupe entertained the crowds. At times the situation got out of hand and the Punjab police resorted to baton charge to control the crowds. Even the newsmen were not spared.
"I would appeal to the Punjab police not to resort to baton charge and hurt my fans," Govinda said interrupting his programme. He sang favourite numbers from Chotte Mian Bade Mian, Aankhen other films.
Before he left for the show there was a virtual stampede in the Hotel Park Plaza where Govinda was staying. The Punjab police escorted him out of the hotel under heavy police protection.
However, Congress candidates from Ludhiana were conspicuous by their absence. Even the senior congressmen stayed away from the show.
"We have nothing to do with the Govinda rally in Ludhiana," a senior congress politician told rediff.com in Patiala.
President of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee Captain Amrinder Singh also stayed away from the rally.
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