Sangrur: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday remembered singer-politician Sidhu Moosewala and attacked the AAP government in Punjab over law and order, as the party began its campaign for the 2027 Assembly elections.
Speaking as the party formally began its campaign for the 2027 state elections, Gandhi stood alongside Moosewala’s father, Balkaur Singh Sidhu, and recalled his earlier association with the artist. He said he had first met Moosewala before the singer joined the Congress and had been struck by his energy, ability, and desire to serve both Punjab and the nation.
Moosewala had earlier contested the assembly election from Mansa on a Congress ticket but lost. Gandhi said he supported his entry into politics because he felt the singer deserved a chance to serve people. He added that he wanted to give him political support, not personal security, as reported by NDTV.
Security Withdrawal Allegation
Gandhi said Moosewala began receiving threats after joining politics and that the government later withdrew his security.
“Then, one day, I witnessed it, right before everyone’s eyes: his security was withdrawn. In full view of Punjab and the entire nation, he was murdered in broad daylight in Punjab, gunned down while in his car,” Gandhi said.
He used the killing to criticise the AAP government’s handling of safety and policing in Punjab.
A Broader Warning On Punjab
Gandhi said Moosewala’s murder was not an isolated incident and reflected a growing problem of insecurity in the state.
“What happened to his son has now become a trend in Punjab,” he said. He claimed that hardworking and ambitious people were increasingly facing threats, harassment, and violence.
He said Punjab’s youth should be encouraged and given opportunities, not forced to live in fear.
Moosewala’s murder remains a sensitive political issue in Punjab. Opposition parties have often questioned his security removal, rising gang violence, and the government’s response to crime.
With Punjab heading for the 2027 Assembly elections, Gandhi placed law and order at the centre of Congress’s campaign and presented Moosewala’s killing as a symbol of the dangers facing the state’s youth.