Iqbal Singh Ahluwalia takes charge as Punjab RSS chief - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Iqbal Singh Ahluwalia takes charge as Punjab RSS chief

Hindustan Times, Chandigarh | ByHT Correspondent
Nov 24, 2020 04:33 PM IST

The appointment of another Sikh face as the Punjab RSS head is significant in the backdrop SAD’s break-up with the BJP. Symbolically, it signals the saffron party’s strategy on Sikh outreach and make inroads in rural Punjab.

Iqbal Singh Ahluwalia, 67, has been appointed chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh’s Punjab unit.

(Left) Outgoing Punjab RSS chief Brijbhushan Bedi, 90, with his successor Iqbal Singh Ahluwalia, 67, at a meting in Chandigarh.(HT photo)
(Left) Outgoing Punjab RSS chief Brijbhushan Bedi, 90, with his successor Iqbal Singh Ahluwalia, 67, at a meting in Chandigarh.(HT photo)

Ahulwalia replaces RSS veteran Brijbhushan Bedi, 90, who remained sangh sanchalak (state head) for 26 years.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

The new office-bearers of the state unit of the RSS was announced on Sunday after their annual meeting in Chandigarh.

The appointment of another Sikh face as the Punjab RSS head is significant in the backdrop SAD’s break-up with the BJP.

Symbolically, it signals the saffron party’s strategy on Sikh outreach and make inroads in rural Punjab.

In the tumultuous ‘80s, Daya Singh Singh Sodhi of Amritsar was the Sikh face of the RSS in Punjab followed by Rulda Singh of Patiala, who was assassinated by Sikh radicals.

Ahluwalia, whose father was also an active member of the RSS, belongs to Sangrur and is a retired employee of the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

Rajneesh Arora, a former vice-chancellor of Punjab Technical University (PTU), has been appointed prant sah sanghchalak or state vice-president. An IIT alumnus, Arora has been an active member of the RSS since his childhood and has worked with the Vanavasi Kalyan Ashram, a social arm of the sangh that serves the backward and socially downtrodden.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Friday, March 22, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On