NEW DELHI, February 9: Congress candidate M M Aggarwal's street corner meeting at Gur Ki Mandi in Delhi Sadar on Sunday evening was reduced to a farce with Sunil Dutt, billed as the Congress's answer to Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Shatrughan Sinha, barely managing to find standing space.Everyone, Congress workers and the crowd, pushed and kicked each other to reach the stage. Sunil Dutt looked lost as he was thrown around by people who wanted to be photographed with him.
Minutes before he came in, truckloads of people arrived to bolster the crowd. Many did not know what was happening, but when the meeting started, they shouted slogans and clapped from time to time. Dutt, Aggarwal and Jagdish Tytler stood on the stage exchanging garlands, patiently waiting for a chance to speak.
Sunil Dutt finally got a chance to speak, ``I visited Punjab in the most turbulent times. I helped riot victims in Mumbai. I have seen bad times m``Apne bete ko yaad kar raha hai.'' (He is remembering his son.) The manwas soon silenced by party workers.
Citing examples from films, he dwelt on Hindu-Muslim unity. ``The Congress stands for unity and secularism. Congress is a historic fact that cannot be ignored,'' he said. Commenting on the BJP's claim that Sonia Gandhi is an outsider, he said, ``Bahu apni ghar ko hi chalati hai. Kya aap kisike bahu ke bare mein bhala-bura kahenge?'' (A daughter-in-law always runs her household. Do you ever comment on someone else's daughter-in-law?). This time, he seemed to make sense to the crowd who applauded.
Drawing inspiration from the crowd's new-found interest, he got emotional. ``Hum log to makhiyan jaise hain, aur aap log shahed. Makhiyan to hamesha shahed ke paas uud atte hain,'' he said. (We are like bees and you people are like honey. Bees are always drawn towards honey).
Tytler, who is still licking his wounds after being denied a ticket from his pet constituency, did little to ease the situation. He did not say a word, believing that his presence wouldprove his solidarity with Aggarwal, his longtime follower.
A Congress worker from Tytler's camp said, ``Tytler has groomed this constituency for years. He has celebrated so many birthdays here. He knows the plight of the mill workers and the civic problems plaguing Sadar. These newcomers hardly know a thing. But it's best to keep quiet now.''
Even while the speeches were going on, many people headed back to the trucks to leave for home after an `eventful' Sunday evening.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
