Sidhu

Chandigarh/New Delhi, Dec. 4: The Jessica Lal verdict had unleashed “people power”, with candlelight marches seeking to bring the well-connected accused to justice.

The Gurnam Singh judgment will see a different kind of rally, with senior BJP and Shiromani Akali Dal leaders accompanying Navjyot Singh Sidhu to Punjab and Haryana High Court when the hearing on his sentence starts on Wednesday.

The BJP leader and former cricketer has been convicted of causing the death of 65-year-old Gurnam, whom he beat up in Patiala 18 years ago after a quarrel over parking.

“I shall be accompanying Sidhu to the high court to express the people’s solidarity with him. Sidhu has done more for Punjab and Punjabis than anyone else,” said Akali leader Parkash Singh Badal, whose party is a BJP ally in the state.

Some senior BJP leaders are expected to fly in from Delhi, party leader Vineet Joshi said.

The political battle over the issue turned murkier today with Gurnam’s relatives alleging local Congress leaders were asking them to resign their SAD memberships and join the party, holding out the lure of a ticket for the February Assembly polls.

They had earlier said the Akalis, with whom the family has been associated for nearly a century, were pressuring them not to press for a harsh sentence on Sidhu.

“Never before have we received so many feelers. The Congress wants all of us to join the party while the SAD, whom we have supported for ages, wants us to pardon Sidhu,” said a family member who wouldn’t be named.

A senior lawyer said Sidhu had a very good chance of escaping jail. If he got less than three years, the high court could let him off immediately. If the sentence was longer, he could get a stay — even a retrial — from the Supreme Court.

If Sidhu stays out, the BJP plans to exploit his “martyrdom” by making him a star campaigner. And the man with the gift of the gab seems to have worked out his “catchline” for the February polls: “Yeh jo public hai yeh sab jaanti hai (The public understands everything).”

The conviction will carry no stigma, a senior BJP leader explained. “In the socio-cultural context of Punjab, public clashes are not such a big deal.”

There is already a sympathy wave in favour of Sidhu, a star TV commentator and popular Amritsar MP till he resigned after the verdict. “Candlelight vigils are being held for him,” a Congress leader said.

Sidhu promises to continue doing his TV shows. “I shoot for the Laughter Challenge on December 11 and 12. I think it is important to carry on with my duties. After all, laugh and the whole world laughs with you, sleep and you snore alone,” he said.